Two Weeks in Carthak
by Sonnet Lacewing
Summary: This is The Emporer Mage from Numair's POV. Some fluff via dreams and definite Daine & Numair foreshadowing. There are also new powerful spells and a rather nasty execution. FINISHED! RR please.
1. Chapter 1 The Dream

This is The Emporer Mage from Numair's eyes. It foreshadows his feelings for Daine. While it follows the books' cannon parts, I will take liberties where there is room. This is not for the innocent. From the first paragraph of the first chapter it has very vivid sexual content. You've been warned.

There were many contradictions in the Emperor's Mage which I will try to address along the way. Among them:

_If Kaddar was working with the slave underground, why did he balk at Daine's request to release slaves?_

_Why if Numair is so vain, does he always down play his power?_

_How Can Numair be the most powerful mage in half of the world when he's in the same space as Alanna? There should have been something to show us the difference.  
_

_If Numair was falling in love with Daine, why would he simply hide in the university until she woke up?_

_If Numair has one of the finest minds in the world, why didn't he figure out the Hag's role in things when all the signs were there?_

I will stick to the Cannon dialogue word for word, and mind the timeline. When I'm done, one should be able to slide into the other seamlessly. If I screw up, I'm sure a lot of people will let me know.

Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I had dreamed up these characters, especially Numair. But, alas, I did not. This is based on Tamora Pierce's The Emporer Mage, with small references to other books of the "Immortals Quartet".

**Chapter one – The Dream**

She was there, above him. She straddled him, slowly rising and falling to the rhythm of their lovemaking. Numair noticed their hands were intertwined, fingers laced. He was both steadying her and pulling her toward him, depending on his need. In the darkness, she was bathed in moonlight. It glittered from soft, supple skin and he followed it up across her belly to her pale breasts. His eyes traveled further to the badger claw she wore on a chain and up the elegant curve of her slender neck. Beyond he saw soft lips, parted slightly. She moaned softly, a sound that teased his senses. Above, he watched her long lashes fluttering. She tilted her head back and let the smoky curls fall out of her eyes. And then she turned her face back to him, those blue-gray eyes were open, staring into his with a hard, intense look that seemed to peer into his soul. He heard his own voice crack in a sound he'd heard many times in the throes of ecstasy, "Oh, Magelet." Except, the name alerted him to the wrongness of this situation. It didn't belong in this setting and the wrongness of it shook him awake.

Numair lay on his back in his dark room in Carthak, gasping. Caught between arousal from a vivid dream and the humiliation of the waking realization that he had been dreaming about _her_, Numair found he was disoriented. He had been having a very sexual dream about his fifteen year old student. Self-loathing washed over him like a wave, wrestling the arousal from his body and leaving his mind reeling.

What was going on? This couldn't be happening. He knew better. He had one of the finest minds in the mortal realm. And yet, wrapping his mind around this was really unfathomable. There were certain do's and don'ts of being a teacher, and having erotic dreams about students half your age definitely fell into the don't category.

He tried to see what might have caused this. Daine was growing up and becoming very pretty. Maybe this was simply his subconscious mind trying to tell him he was minorly attracted. But there was no minor attraction in that dream. He couldn't remember ever having a dream like that in his life. Yes, he had experienced erotic dreams before. But that was too real. There were details there that he had no right to ponder. He tried to think of what had happened to precipitate it. They had been in Carthak for a short time. He had noticed recently that Daine was growing lovely. In trying to compliment her, he had ended up pointing out that she "had her own something". But that alone would not bring a dream like what he had just experienced. His mind shot to what had happened at the noon banquet that very day. Daine knew he had a sensitive stomach and sent a dog to help him save face in front of his ex-lover, Varice. But that was nothing, or was it?

He had made a strange observation when it happened. At the time it was a simple curiousity to him. She had noticed his need and met it. He didn't have to ask. That was sweet. However, he had also observed that it was something that a mere student had noticed. Varice had been his lover for a couple of years in Carthak, and he thought it odd that she didn't remember this little piece of information. Then he wasn't sure if she had ever even known. But why? Who sleeps with someone for two years and doesn't know little things about them? He knew her favorite foods, her favorite drinks, and even her favorite color of silk. Maybe she hadn't cared to learn.

So he wondered if that was why his mind put Daine in a place Varice had held. And what a good job his mind had done in replacing one with another. The two women had little in common in looks: Daine was slender whileVarice was voluptuous. Their eyes and hair were nothing alike. He couldn't be sure, but he thought that even the voice had been correctly replaced. It was a thought that sent color to his cheeks and let that nauseous feeling of self-loathing creep into him again. He knew he wouldn't go to sleep if he tried, and the truth was he was afraid to. What if he dreamed that again? Numair lit his lamp and pulled out a book.

He had just finished the first page when he heard a knock at the door. He lifted a robe from the edge of the bed and checked himself in the looking glass. He didn't know if he expected the word, "fiend" to be written across his forehead, but was glad to note that it wasn't there. He was the same old Numair with the same old dark eyes and the same old shoulder length, raven-black hair. He observed with a sense of irony that he was feeling older by the second. With some trepidation, he opened the door. Varice Kingsford leaned on his doorsill with come-hither eyes. "Good evening," she said. "I saw the light on under your door and thought you might welcome a visit from an old friend."

Numair smiled. "I would, indeed." He hoped that she could erase the memory of the dream and that perhaps what he needed was a little adult interaction. He stepped back and bowed slightly. He could take solace in Varice and forget. At least, that was what he intended.


	2. Chapter 2 Varice Kingsford

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to Tamora Pierce.**

**Chapter Two – Varice Kingsford**

Varice was a beautiful woman. Tall and buxom, she had the blond hair and blue eyes that usually render men incapable of thinking. She had walked into Numair's room in the middle of the night with one thing clearly on her mind. The sheer white veil which had adorned her soft, blond hair lay three feet from the entry way. Her clingy red silk gown had been dropped hastily on the marble floor at the foot of the elegantly carved ebony bed. Varice had flung herself into Numair's arms with full abandon. But there was just one problem -- each time he closed his eyes, Numair's mind replayed the dream which had awoken him earlier.

Numair had tried to ignore it. Varice knew him well from their tryst of nine years ago when he was still known as Arram Draper and when he had lived in Carthak. Her knowledge of him gave her a knack for teasing all the right places. But her soft painted lips became the naturally rosy lips of Daine in his mind. Varice's richly curved body became Daine's slender form. His hands roved Varice's skin and his mind mapped those places on Daine which he should never have been looking at in the first place. It wasn't long before that nauseating feeling of self-loathing he had experienced earlier took over completely. He let go of Varice, pulled back from her and whispered, "I'm so sorry, but I can't do this."

She giggled lightly and replied, "Sure you can. Have you forgotten how?" But then she took one look at his face and inhaled sharply. All amusement left her as she folded her arms in front of her naked breasts self-consciously. "Why, Arram?" she asked with pleading eyes.

Numair stood, picked up her gown and handed it to her. He then tactfully turned his back so that she could redress without him staring. With his back turned to her he tried to explain. "You have done nothing wrong, Varice. I'm – there was a time that you could blow on my ear and make my brain shut off entirely, but that was many years ago. Being back here in Carthak has me in complete inner turmoil. Ozorne allowed me to return with a full pardon, but I am not fool enough to think that all is forgiven. And you are rather entwined with a man who, as recently as last year wanted me dead. I am here for another six days and we cannot just pick up where we left off. While my body would very much like my head to stop considering things like this, it isn't working."

Varice stood behind him on the bed and placed a hand on each of his shoulders. "I didn't say there had to be a tomorrow," she whispered, as she began to nibble his ear.

Numair shuddered agreeably and thought ever so briefly about turning around and taking the gown back off of her. But then his mind's eye pictured Daine in the lilac muslin dress she had worn that very evening. He imagined himself pushing it down her shoulders and listening to it drop to the floor. He jerked away from Varice as if she had bitten him.

"Is there more to this? Have I become repulsive to you by remaining in Ozorne's court?"

"Gods no. When I saw you again yesterday…" He trailed off. "But I'm not sure where I stand here and I'm not sure where you stand here either. Then I had this very disturbing dream and I – I just can't get it out of my mind."

She clicked her tongue sympathetically. She ran a hand down his stomach and thigh, teasingly. Then she stood back sharply. "You really are somewhere else tonight aren't you? That should have gotten your attention if nothing else did."

He chuckled and nodded agreement. Then he sat down on the bed almost dejectedly. "It has been a long time since I felt on the brink of madness." He pulled on his long nose.

"So your dream, it didn't have me putting you in the dungeon or some horrible thing like that did it? Because I wouldn't – you know that right?" She sat down next to him, but left a foot of space so that they weren't actually touching at all. She turned her skyblue eyes on him, searching.

"No," he smiled ironically. "You weren't there at all."

"Oh." She wrapped a lock of blond hair around a finger and twisted, something he'd seen her do at least a hundred times before. He knew that it was a self-conscious act to her, as much as crossing her arms in front of her had been."So the Dream God doesn't place me in your life, huh?"

He tilted his head sideways. "I didn't think about that. It was a very, very vivid dream. But surely He wouldn't – unless He finds it amusing to make me consider doing horrible things to myself." The last of that sentence was muttered, but not low enough for Varice to miss it.

With eyes open very wide, Varice surveyed him. "Arram, you aren't – you wouldn't – you aren't serious about that are you?"

"No, I'm not. It's this place. Being here has me – I'm not myself. I have seen the worst of Ozorne's hospitality and I'm not eager to find myself in his dungeon again. That would make anyone apprehensive. Despite his reassurances, I'm not convinced that all is forgiven. You didn't see me there. You don't know what hopelessness one can feel locked away like that. All my power was useless. Those cells block all magic; with the loss of my gift, I lost my hope as well. I thought – I was sure I would die there. And even my escape didn't make it easier. I spent a long time hiding who I was and struggling to survive. It was not a pleasant time, Varice, and _you_ didn't have to go there with me." The last sentence was stated a little too sharply and Numair knew it. And yet he didn't regret it. He supposed some part of him had been thinking it all along -- he suffered while she stayed and played dress-up with his greatest enemy.

"So it _is_ me then," she said and it was clearly not a question. He saw a tear roll down her cheek. "I wasn't strong enough to follow you into hell. I like pretty things. I like using my gift for cooking and making people happy. You wanted to be famous and know everything there was to know. I just couldn't follow. Does that make me a bad person?" She was standing now, but looked disoriented. She began to dab at her now streaming eyes with a pretty handkerchief bearing an embroidered "V".

"No, Varice," Numair replied gently. He reached out to stroke her cheek and she nuzzled against his hand. It was a beautiful gesture, but nothing more, and this he knew clearly. "But it does mean that you and I don't belong together. This would have been very wrong for both of us. Perhaps that was what the Dream God wished me to see."

She nodded, but looked sad. Varice set her lacy handkerchief down on the carved credenza. She picked up her veil and began to straighten her hair. Numair helped. Positioned in front of his mirror, the beautiful blond was shadowed by his own swarthy features and height. "Varice, I will always think of you fondly. We have a history and a friendship that transcends much. But I do hope you find a husband one day -- someone who makes you really happy and perhaps gives you the position and title you've longed for." He smiled lightly and added, "And I promise I won't kill him after all."

Varice smiled and kissed his cheek softly. She seemed pleased by his reference the line he'd used the night they arrived at Carthak. She opened the door, looking back with shining eyes. Then she left.

Numair sat back against his pillows and crossed his long legs. He could still smell Varice's floral perfume in the room. For a moment he smiled as memories of Varice played once more through his mind. And then the smile turned to a frown as he again found himself caught in the pictures of the dream, which had taken over his reverie. If the Dream God had placed that dream in his mind, whatever could the purpose be? His mind replayed the time spent with Daine that evening at the banquet. He recalled being startled by her beauty and complimenting her with "If I'm not careful, you'll be grown and married to a deserving fellow before I realize it." He had meant that at the time. There was no twinge of jealousy. She hadn't dignified his comments with so much as a smile. But then she startled him by saying the Badger had visited. Numair sat up as he realized that Daine needed to talk and he had dismissed her request without another thought.. Numair promised himself to rise early and find her. He made a quiet plea to the Dream God to leave him to rest without further revisiting the disturbing ideas of earlier, then he laid back and closed his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3 Numair's Weakness

Disclaimer:Oh, how I wish I had invented Daine, Numair, Alanna, etc. But I didn't. I just use them for my own nefarious purposes. This story is The Emperor Mage from Numair's point of view. Some dialogue will be copied word for word from Tamora Pierce's fine work, beginning in this chapter.

**Chapter Three – Numair's Weakness**

Gainel, the Master of Dreams, must have had other plans for Numair. If he dreamed anything between midnight and the nightmare that woke him just before dawn, he did not remember. However, the horror that did precede consciousness would haunt him for weeks. Initially, it seemed very like the dream from the night before except for the one significant exception that he was now observer rather than participant. If some circumstance had brought him upon a couple in this exposed state in waking hours, he would have turned and discreetly taken his leave. But in this dream world, he was compelled forward. He approached from the side until he could confirm that the woman was Daine. Though he could not see her face, he recognized curves and features he had no memory of ever studying. And something was wrong. There was no beauty reflected in this act. He noticed that instead of the loving gesture of laced fingers, the man held the woman's wrists. The grip looked hard and painful. The next difference he noticed was that Daine appeared to be wearing some sort of collar shaped necklace that emitted a green glow in the darkness instead of her usual badger claw. The collar looked oddly familiar. With dread, he realized it looked almost exactly like the collars they had seen on the hurroks in Dunlath, which the mages used to control the beasts.

With a sickening fear his gaze traveled to the man beneath Daine. It was Ozorne. The emperor then turned to face Numair and laughed with hollow mirth. Numair saw Daine turn her head. His gaze met hers and he felt a terror like he had never experienced. Her eyes were hollow with despair and bloody tears trickled down her cheeks. There was blood around her mouth as well. She mouthed soundlessly, "Help me, please." He knew beyond reason that her tongue had been cut out. A gasping scream from some distance rang through the air and carried Numair back to the waking world. It was his own voice he had heard. He leaned over the edge of his bed and wretched. If there had been something in his stomach, he would have vomited.

Numair was drenched in cold sweat and there were tears on his cheek. He didn't cry easily and it was not something he would have wanted someone to see. He wiped his eyes with Varice's handkerchief and tossed it in the corner, where it landed on the stuffed vulture displayed there. He dressed without really realizing he was doing it and flew out the door, stopping to breathe only when he had reached the door to Daine's room. _This is insane_, he thought. _If she were hurt every animal in the place would be searching. I'll knock and she'll come to answer the door wearing the groggy look that she always has in the morning._ The thought brought a smile to his mouth for the first time since he had awakened. He told himself to calm down and knocked gently at her door. But no answer would come.

Over the following quarter of an hour, Numair searched for Daine frantically. He managed to wake every one of the delegates, none of whom had seen her since the previous night. Kitten, the dragonet Daine had adopted, did not know where Daine was and Zek, the marmoset she had rescued from the river two days before, became frightened by the panic that Numair exuded. Zek hid the entire time he remained in the room.

Next, he searched the gardens and the baths and even tried scrying. But the mirror remained painfully blank meaning either that Daine was somewhere protected heavily by magic, or that she no longer existed. Numair tried hard not to think about the latter. The horror of the dream stayed perched on the edge of his thoughts until he was certain that Ozorne must have her. Lindhall had said Ozorne spent every morning with his birds. Rage bubbled inside Numair's brain as he raced to the aviary. Then he pushed the doors open with his magic.

"What do you mean by this intrusion?" Ozorne stood abruptly from where he had been reading. He must have immediately registered the dangerous state Numair was in because green lightning balled around his hands protectively.

Icily, Numair demanded, "Where is she?"

"Of whom are we speaking?"

"Daine! Where is she?"

"Now don't tell me you've lost her already," Ozorne replied sarcastically. "And why are you looking for her here? This is hardly a peaceful gesture for a delegate. You burst into this private atrium demanding your girl. She is not here. Maybe she's in her room sleeping."

Numair registered that he was on dangerous ground. Normally he was patient and able to maintain a calm exterior, but here and now he was behaving like a monster and he knew it. He forced himself to take two steadying breaths in a standing meditation. Calmer he said, "I'm sorry for the intrusion. But Daine is missing. She is not in her rooms and Kitten does not know where she went or how long ago she left. We've checked the common area with no success. We've checked the baths, the gardens, and she is nowhere to be found."

Ozorne looked amused and it refueled Numair's anger. Before Ozorne could retort sarcastically Numair continued, "If she is here and you are concealing her from me –"

"Be assured, Draper, she is _not_ here. We had hoped she would be, to see how our birds have improved."

Numair noticed the man had begun speaking with the regal _we _instead of _I._ He followed suit. "If they have, then you have no further need of her. We _all _prefer that you leave her in peace."

"_We_ are inclined to give her grace and favor." Ozorne's tone was haughty but his eyes were amused. Numair's concern was clear and it was a foothold the emperor could use to torment him. "She has served us well and we wish to reward her."

Narrowing his eyes, Numair responded hotly, "She requires no rewards for your providing, _Your Imperial Majesty. _She is well enough as she is._" _

"Such heat over a girl child, and one without family or connection to recommend her. Why concern yourself in her affairs? You will forget she exists the moment some rare tome of magic comes into your hands, or some arcane toy. That has always been your way. You take up with someone, make them feel you are their sworn friend, then turn on them the moment you have what you wanted from them."

"How like you to see it in those terms. She is my _student._ You will never understand that. You never could sustain so profound a tie. Once you gained your throne, you decided you no longer required mere _human bonds._" But as he said it, his thoughts drifted guiltily to the first dream of the night prior – Daine, naked, in a place no mere student could occupy.

"Human bonds," Ozorne said quietly, studying his gilded nails. His eyes flashed dangerously. "I am certain you and your lovely _student_ have a most profound bond. Must you share a bed with her animals as well as with her?"

Numair was shocked, feeling as exposed as if the emperor had somehow read his thoughts. He wasn't aware that his cheeks burned crimson, nor did he consciously decide to attempt to strike Ozorne. He only came to himself when his hand bounced off the visible shield the emperor had used to protect himself. The shock of the shield burned and he pulled his hand back quickly, rubbing it. He knew he should not have done that, but there was no taking it back now. "If you interfere with her, if you harm her in any way, it will be a breach of the peace accords." The harm he'd witnessed in the second dream came back to his mind's eye full force. He swallowed painfully and finished, "All of the Eastern Lands will unite to destroy you." Numair turned and walked out.

Outside the door, Numair found himself shaking violently. The flood of images from the nightmare raked his mind – her despairing eyes, bloody tears, blood around her mouth, forced to – it was too much. He even thought he could hear himself screaming again. But no sound escaped him. He needed to search some more. He knew he had to find Daine. He ran back toward the delegates' rooms, trying to escape his own mind.


	4. Chapter 4 The Badger's Gift

Chapter 4 – The Badger's gift

Once in the delegates' hall, Numair ran back to Daine's room. All the way back he had searched his memory for magical ways to find someone and a focus seemed to be the best choice. But he wasn't sure what to use. He knew her clothes were all new and wasn't certain if they had been in her possession long enough. A focus needed to have been in her possession for a 'long' time. He might find some hairs in her brush. Or he could try to use the sapphire drop earrings he had given her as a midwinter present. They had been in her possession for most of a year, though he had only seen her wearing them on three occasions.

He opened her door and saw Kit sitting on the credenza. Kit had seen him scrying for Daine earlier and appeared to be attempting to do it. She made a joyful noise and pointed excitedly. And there, in the mirror, he saw Daine, hurrying down a corridor. She was safe and healthy. He breathed deeply as relief washed over him. He felt his face break into a smile for the first time since waking that morning. And then it left just as quickly as he realized what a fool he had made of himself.

If he had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs as he sat down for breakfast. Alanna looked over at him and said, "Did you find her?"

Afraid to open his mouth, he threw his head toward the door she would shortly walk in and started to pick at his food. When Daine did walk in she made a hasty excuse about visiting the aviary and getting lost on the way back.

Numair fumed. If this was true then Ozorne had to have known she had been there and yet he never said anything. He could simply have told Numair that she was there and gone. If he had given Numair an idea of how long she had been gone, Numair could have helped her find her way. But then he realized that it didn't ring true. Daine couldn't get lost. She would simply ask one of the palace animals the way. He glanced up at her and wondered why she had lied.

In the two years he had known her, Daine had lied to him rarely. There was a brief time when Numair first became her teacher that Daine had been afraid of the truth enough to lie to him. Ultimately, she revealed what had been bothering her. The wild magic was so strong in her that she had lost herself to it once. Fueled by grief she had run with a pack of wolves to avenge the deaths of her family. When she began to learn how to use the magic within her, it threatened to take her over. She would hear the nearest pack or herd of animals call to her and lose her sense of identity. She had trusted Numair and their mutual friend, Onua, enough to reveal this and ask for help. Since that time they trusted one another completely, or at least he thought they had.

He wondered if the reason behind her lying now had to do with whatever the Badger had told her. Giving up on breakfast, he realized there might be time to talk now. So he watched for Daine to finish and when she too appeared to tire of picking at her food he approached her. "Daine, you asked to speak to me alone. Let's go to my room."

Alanna, who was seated nearby said, "Then I go too."

Numair searched her face for a reason but before he could ask, Daine said, "It isn't needful – it's just a magic thing."

Alanna's expression was grave. "If you visit a man's room, you need a chaperon." Alanna shook her head and focused on Numair. "Really, Numair, you know Carthakis. They think an unveiled woman is no better than she ought to be. Until we leave here, you can't talk with her unless she is chaperoned or you can manage it in public."

Numair felt the heat of a blush flood his face. "A fine thing, when I can't talk to my student alone." He supposed it was best given the dreams of the night before, though he couldn't say as much. He led the way to his room. "Let's go, then."

In his rush to find Daine that morning, he had given little thought to the state of his room. Though a slave had obviously been sent in to straighten, Varice's perfume still hung in the air. He saddened at the thought of the slaves the emperor kept here. As delegates they could say nothing. He chided himself for making the slave's job harder and was pulled from these thoughts abruptly when he distinctly heard Daine murmur to Alanna, "Did _Varice_ have a chaperon?" Blushing, he pretended not to have heard. Alanna muttered something in response, but Numair couldn't hear what it was.

Numair closed the door and wondered briefly at the scowl on Daine's face. He warded the room magically and then sat on the bed next to Alanna. "It's safe now. Talk."

Pacing, Daine said, "The Badger visited my cabin on board ship the day we arrived. He was fair harsh wanting to know why we were here. I did my best to explain why we were trying for peace despite all we believe Ozorne has done. But he said – this is exact as I can remember – he said that this was the worst possible place I could be now and that I should try to convince you all to go home."

The girl frowned at the memory and continued, "I tried to tell him we could not without insulting the emperor and making it all worse. Then he started muttering to himself saying things like 'I must talk them out of it' and 'they will have to understand' and something about a mortal girl not having the freedom 'they' do but I couldn't make sense of it. When I asked what he meant he said the Great Gods that two-leggers worship have lost patience with Ozorne and that things could get very chancy here."

Numair's mind began to race. What could be coming? He'd heard prophesies but – his ruminations were interrupted by a heavy sigh from Daine. She said, "There was something strange – the badger growled and snapped at the air. It was like he was arguing with someone, but I couldn't tell who or what. And then he said, 'as you wish' and told me to come closer. I tried to argue, really I did. But he yelled at me and then he breathed on me and this – it was like silver fog what covered me. I could feel it clear through my bones. And then he was gone!"

"Curious," Numair observed, while trying to imagine what that could have been about.

"And don't forget what Rikash said – that he wouldn't be here much longer because Carthak is 'unhealthy."

"Isn't he the stormwing you met in Dunlath?" Alanna asked. Daine nodded.

Numair considered her words for a moment. "It's hardly new, Seers throughout the Eastern and Southern Lands have been giving warnings of some disaster that looms over Carthak. Without better information, we have no reason to break off the talks and return home. Have you such information?" Daine shook her head, her smoky curls bouncing with the motion.

Numair shrugged and said, "Next time, tell the Badger he must be more specific if his warning is to be of any use."

"What about the breath thing the Badger did?" Alanna inquired. "Do you know what it is?"

"Oh, I know," said Daine grimly. "And I don't like it – not one bit."

Numair watched her slight figure walk toward the corner. There was a stuffed vulture sitting there. He grimaced as he realized that was where he had tossed Varice's handkerchief. She grabbed it and stuffed it into her pocket. She looked back toward Numair and Alanna with a sour expression and said, "Here's what the badger did." Then she rubbed her palms on her breeches and grasped the vulture with both hands. Light blazed around her fingers, and Numair heard Alanna gasp. The stuffed vulture had moved. The red, purple, orange and yellow head tilted and the wings spread, brushing Daine's head. The vulture leaned toward her, its face inches from hers.

Daine smiled, her pretty face lit in a friendly gesture. "Hello," she told him. Then her face blanched down to her lips. "I need to sit." She sat on the bed and put her head between her knees.

Alanna rushed to her side, checking her pulse. "Daine?"

Numair hated that he had no healing magic. The most he could do was stand back out of the way.

"I'm fine. Just dizzy." She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Numair dug around in a pocket until he found his bottle of wakeflower. But when he produced it, Daine waved it away. Smiling to himself, he acknowledged that Daine desperately hated the smell of wakeflower, which he had to admit was nothing short of putrid. But then the most effective potions were usually extreme.

The vulture flapped awkwardly across the room and clutched the wooden screen over the window. He pecked at the opening in the wood. Six feet in wingspan, the vulture made the room much smaller. It was an overall daunting sight considering it had been little more than a furnishing ten minutes ago.

Numair looked with concern at Daine. "Is your weakness part of this new working?"

"I don't know. The times it happened before – the tiger rug in my room, and a three-horn skeleton in the Hall of Bones – it was just a flash. They didn't move about for long."

"I need to sit," Alanna said, and did. "The – what did you say? – tiger, and the three-horn. Did you bring them to life on purpose?"

"No. It was an accident." The vulture hopped onto the bed and leaned against Daine.

"That may explain why you're weak. This time you _tried _to do it." Alanna looked to Numair and asked, "Do you agree?"

Numair tugged his long nose. This needed consideration. From everything he had understood about the capabilities of the gift and wild magic this was not possible. Hesitantly he said, "To reason without information is fruitless. To acquire more information, Daine must conduct further experiments." Numair rubbed his temples. He could feel the dull throb of an approaching headache. "What precisely did the badger say?"

"He said he had a gift for me to help me if all went 'ill'."

Numair began to pace. "The tiger and three-horn – what happened? You are sure neither the slave in your room nor Lindhall saw anything?"

Daine shook her head. "No. I don't think they could have covered up if they saw." The girl looked apologetic, an expression that Numair had always found endearing on her."

Alanna laughed shakily. "Nor could I!"

Daine tickled the bird's foot and he nibbled her hair. "I can't talk with him. It's like he's got no mind. But he must, mustn't he? He _looks_ like he can think."

Numair chuckled at that comment. Then he carefully considered what to say next, the whole time fingering his black opal pendant. "The time is inconvenient. We can't investigate properly while we are here. I will say this much – what you have done sounds like no wild magic I have ever heard of. Only the gods can bring the dead back even to a seeming of life."

"I'm no god," protested Daine. "What if the badger passed some of his godness on to me?"

Numair shook his head. This was a subject he had studied in depth. "There is nothing in the writings about animal gods to indicate they are able to do such a transfer. Not only that, but normally their power affects only those of their own species. The badger's magic should apply to badgers alone, as the wolf god applies only to wolves, and so on. Only the great gods have power that translates across species: Mithros, the Goddess, the Black God, the Graveyard Hag, the Master of Dream Gainel –"

"Don't name them all," Alanna interrupted with an air of long-enduring patience.

Numair smiled. He knew that his academia was sometimes maddening to others. "No – of course not. In the meantime, Daine, I think it would be best if you said nothing of this and, in particular _did _nothing with it until we got home."

"I'll _try_. It keeps getting away from me, though."

"What about him?" asked Alanna, pointing a shaky finger at the vulture. "We can't just let him run around in here. He's losing feathers for one thing."

It struck Numair that at some distant point in the future, this whole situation might be comical. Right now it was downright unsettling. It had clearly shaken Alanna up. And it takes a lot to shake up the king's champion.

Daine turned to the bird and asked, "What do you want to do, wing-brother?"

The vulture hopped from the bed, landing on the deep windowsill. Keeping his balance with the help of his wings, he pecked at at the cedar screen.

"You want out?"

"Taking him out now is tough," Alanna remarked. "People will ask questions. I assume you want this kept quiet."

"As quiet as possible," Numair said. "You don't know Ozorne. If he found out she could do this... You don't ever want him to find out." He shuddered inwardly as the nightmare crossed his mind's eye again. This would be one more enticement for Ozorne to enslave Daine.

"If I take you to my rooms, will you stay there and pretend to be stuffed if the servants come in?" Daine petted the vulture as she made this offer to him. "When it's dark, we'll go outside."

The vulture nodded.

Numair realized that she would need a little help in hiding the bird. He reached into his belt pouch and produced a polished stone. "This cat's eye agate will make you two invisible once the spell is activated. When you're in your room, put it in your pocket. Out of the light, the charm will end. Don't bump into anyone, or they will see you, spell or no."

"Come on," Daine told the vulture. "You'd best walk. You're too big to carry."

The bird hopped to the floor, wings half opened for balance. Numair completed the spell by drawing a rune in the air over the agate. Then he gave it to Daine.

The girl looked imploringly into his eyes and he felt a fluttering in his stomach -- he wasn't sure why. Quietly she said, "Numair -- you shouldn't have tried to hit him. I dont' think he liked it."

Completely taken aback, Daine was out the door before he could respond. Alanna looked at him searchingly. "What did she say? Did you try to hit someone?"

Avoiding her eyes, Numair shrugged. "I don't know what she was talking about. I'll have to ask later, it's nearly time to begin today's negotiations."

It worked. Alanna left without another word. Numair closed the door and sat down. Daine must have shape shifted into a bird. Ozorne had not known she was there at all. But now Ozorne knew that Daine was important to Numair. He had imperilled her. He closed his eyes as his mind reeled. This could not be undone.


	5. Chapter 5 Ruminations

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the story timeline, only my own twisted version of it. Even some of the dialogue is taken word for word from Tamora Pierce, the Goddess of YA Fantasy._**

**Chapter Five – Ruminations**

When the bell rang indicating the time talks were to resume, Numair barely heard it. Normally fascinated by these kinds of debates, he discovered it was the last place he wanted to be today. Numair seated himself between Alanna and Duke Gareth of Naxun. He distractedly poured himself a glass of water, spilling a little. Feeling eyes on him, he noticed Alanna was glaring. The redhead's famous temper was obviously stirring. He suspected she had talked with Daine about his attempt to hit Ozorne. Numair knew he had been foolish and would have no defense for his actions.

Within moments they had stood to show respect to Emperor Ozorne as he entered the room. Ozorne sat regally without a word. Moments later, feeling eyes on him, Numair saw that Ozorne, too, was glowering at him. Numair's ability to see gift showed him a view that most of the delegates wouldn't have. The emperor's normally well-contained magic was spilling into the air. Numair could almost feel the crackle of Ozorne's temper. He observed with irony that he had managed to irritate the two people in the room with the most dangerous tempers.

The morning began with a recap of what had been agreed upon on the prior day. Numair's emotionally exhausted brain didn't need much encouragement to wander and this certainly didn't help. His focus wandered around the room, looking at artwork, the intricate gilded ceiling and the fine black marble floor. He idly realized that he had been in this room before when he was much younger. Years ago, when he and Ozorne were still friends, it had been an empty room they had used to practice showy spells in.

He could remember laughing with Ozorne about a delicately carved chair which did not hold up well to Numair's magic. He could picture the whole thing as if it were yesterday. The flash of black with white sparkles plucked the chair from its position and floated it. The seventeen year old Ozorne picked that moment to mention the girl his friend had asked to the midsummer ball. "Lanette called you gawky, Arram, like a giraffe in clothes." He laughed relentlessly and Arram blushed, but tried to ignore him. It was when he repeated the last part, sniggering so hard it was almost incoherent, that Arram lost his concentration. "You're a gir -- giraffe in – in clothes". Arram's overabundant gift somehow made the chair burst. Ozorne then said, "So you won't be using that spell to whisk her away, then." They had both laughed at that. It was one of the last times Numair could remember actually laughing with the now emperor Ozorne. Their friendship began a downhill spiral after that and ultimately ended with Arram locked in a magic-cancelling dungeon, charged with treason. He should have been executed. Instead he escaped to the life and identity he knew now.

He hadn't thought about Lanette in years. It was funny how, at the time, he was sure his heart would stop beating all together when she refused him. But it didn't. Now he was aware that his infatuation with her and many other ladies he'd known over the years was simply lust. For a long time, his true love had been the magic. He didn't give up on the spell that burst the chair. It was now so easy he rarely considered the struggle to learn to control it. It was, in fact, the very spell he had used to pluck Daine and Zek from the river full of crocodiles on their first day in Carthak.

Numair found himself marveling at the life he had built for himself. Had he stayed in Carthak and not crossed the emperor, he might have married Varice. He would likely be one of the mages that Jonathan of Conte now considered evil. He would never have met Alanna, George, Onua or Daine.

_Daine. _He did not understand why his thoughts strayed to her so much lately. She was dear to him and rightly so. People cannot fight together, risking life and limb, without forging an impenetrable bond. Perhaps that was where the dream came from. Even so, it was not an appropriate way to think of her. Being honest with himself, Numair knew he was attracted. There wasn't even one thing he could point to and say, "That's why." She was becoming beautiful. He wasn't the only one to notice. He saw men turn their heads at the sight of her. But he had been with women who were admittedly more beautiful – at least physically. Varice could render a man speechless. Lady Cassandra in Corus inspired bards to sing of her. Either one of these women, as the subject of a dream, would not have shaken him up so.

He knew there was a difference. _Daine has a beautiful mind._ She was rough in language and lacked some of the refinement he found in the women of court. She was completely incapable of pronouncing "simulacrum" he thought with a smile. But she was compelling. Perhaps her wild magic gave her the horse sense that he found almost enviable. She also has a musical sort of laughter and an optimism thatwas contagious. _Her generous nature and kindness to all living things should make anyone look at her twice._ But shewas far too young to appear naked in his dreams. He felt his face color.

Next to him, Duke Gareth leaned to get the water pitcher and asked, "Where are you today?"

"Hmmmm?" Numair realized that he had not taken in a single bit of the conversation. Quietly he whispered, "There are reasons why I felt it was best to hold my tongue today." He gestured toward Ozorne.

Duke Gareth seemed startled to see the look of hatred emanating from the emperor as he stared at Numair. The Duke turned to Numair and mouthed the word, "Why?"

Numair only shook his head to suggest now was not the time.

The truth was he wasn't even sure what topic they were on. At some point while he daydreamed, a rather heated debate about fishing rights had erupted. Numair was usually in the middle of such things, reciting laws and offering solutions. It was something that Daine found most annoying about him. _Daine._ She trusted him so much. What would she think if she could see what he had seen in sleep?

Unbidden, his mind raced over the dream. Now he realized that it was always followed by the nightmare version. He also realized with a start that there were disturbing similarities between them. The position was one of many two lovers might find themselves in. But somehow, Numair's mind had placed himself and Ozorne the same, as if they were interchangeable. He shuddered at the thought. In the nightmare, Daine was clearly captive. But wouldn't she be in the dream as well? Ozorne would need a mind control device to have his way with Daine. But Numair could confuse her mind with simple words. Many times he had seen how easy it was for someone of his age and experience to delude a young woman into believing herself in love with him. It only took three small words and a girl would gladly give up her innocence to a man twice her age. This was not something that should happen to Daine. She should be – _she deserved to be_ treated with devotion. And she definitely didn't deserve what Ozorne might have in store. Numair silently swore to Bright Mithros that he would keep her from harm – even if the harm was himself.

He heard Alanna shift in her chair, bringing him once again to himself. With a start he realized it was nearly mid-day and he had not said a word. The delegates were still arguing about fishing rights. Numair wondered if they should ask the Crocodiles for help in sorting it all out and smiled to himself.

A half hour later, the mid-day bell chimed and the group broke for lunch. The group seemed at a stalemate on who could take what fish from where and Numair wondered if that would be the topic all day.

A light meal awaited them in the banquet hall. Numair was sorry to note that Daine and Kaddar had not returned from their tour. Varice, however, was present and wore a warm smile that Numair had not expected. It would not have been surprising to discover that she was angry about the outcome of the previous night. He had, afterall, rejected her advances. He tried to soften it and hoped to maintain a friendship. He thought with surprise, that it might have been the only attempt he had succeeded in during the last 24 hours.

"Good afternoon," Numair said with a friendly smile.

Varice beamed. "Good afternoon, handsome. Did you sleep well?"

"As well as could be expected while alone," he flirted shamelessly. Given the circumstances though, it seemed like the right thing to do.

"That wasn't my idea," she whispered.

"I actually was afraid you would be angry. I'm pleased to learn that is not the case," he answered in a low voice.

"How could I be? You've grown up. You appear to want something permanent. That was an eventuality I could never have imagined from you. And perhaps, if I give up my childish ways…"

Numair tried not to let the shock he felt show on his face. This was not what he had wanted, but then he didn't feel like he could afford another enemy. This was especially true when he saw Alanna marching toward him, daggers in her narrowed eyes. "Eat fast," she growled. "I believe you need another sword fighting lesson."


	6. Chapter 6 Sparring

_**Dislaimer: I am not responsible for the creation of these characters (except the ones you don't recognize). I am responsible for manipulating them into my story. Laughs evilly.**_

**And now………..**

**Chapter Six – Sparring**

Varice looked delighted. "You have changed so much, Arram," she gushed. "I knew you were possibly the most powerful mage in the world but I didn't know you could use a sword as well. Can I watch?" Alanna looked murderous.

"Sword practice with the Lioness is far too humiliating for any man to want an audience, especially me." Numair tried to smile. It was a difficult feat when he considered the anger flashing from Alanna's eyes. But it did the trick. Her anger seemed to soften a little and she chuckled.

Hoping to further lighten her temper, Numair continued, "Dare I ask how many pieces I will be losing from this lesson, and from where?" There was some truth in this. His abysmal first attempts to learn, back when he first came to work for Jonathan of Conte, had left him one of his most spectacular scars.

Alanna smiled now, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. It was at moments like these that Numair could see how she came to earn the nickname "Lioness". She currently had the demeanor of an irritated cat. He could imagine her as one, tail thumping, striking out with a big paw to stop the source of her annoyance. He felt it best to submit to whatever lecture she had in store for him now. It also occurred to him that Alanna had not taken to Varice. He was not sure why that was, but it seemed inadvisable to leave one in the other's company for long. "I'm really not hungry, Alanna. But some exercise will probably be beneficial. Would you like to go now?"

She didn't bother replying. She just turned on her heel and led the way to the exercise area. It occurred to Numair that maybe she was too angry to speak. She had been forced to keep her temper in check during hours of delegate prattle. He supposed he couldn't blame her.

The room they had been given for workouts was large and mostly bare of furniture. It had four wooden benches on each wall that looked as if they had been borrowed from a garden. Several types of weapons were displayed here along with a target and fencing dummy. They moved into the room and simultaneously flicked their magics to the four corners to ward the place. Amused by the irony, they both smiled fleetingly and then turned more serious. Alanna removed her personal sword and sheath from her belt and set them aside. She then picked up two curved swords that were choice weapons in this country. She tossed one to Numair, and motioned for him to take the fighting stance she had taught him. Without a word he sent black fire with white sparks over each of them. It was what he had devised to use instead of padding during the long practice sessions he had spent with Alanna.

At six feet five inches, Numair was a daunting figure. His muscular build had been enhanced by workouts like this over the time in service to the King. He had more than a foot of height over his red-headed companion. A stranger may have expected Numair to have the upper hand. But that would only be true if the stranger hadn't heard of Alanna. Even the fact that he had lived for some time in Carthak and had seen these type of blades before did not give him an advantage. The truth was he had never so much as picked up a sword before Alanna began teaching him seven years ago. He tried to get the feel for the sword but figured it was a waste of time. Alanna shouted, "Begin!" and she started to circle in for her first attack.

Numair could not practice with Alanna without remembering back to the first lesson. He had foolishly thought it unfair for a man to fight a woman. That notion landed him on his backside with a blade at his throat in a little less than thirty seconds. Alanna was short, but used every inch of her frame as a finally honed weapon. Her sword seemed part of her. Numair had only recently begun to feel at home in his own body. His tendency toward absent-mindedness left him to trip over his own feet far too often. Alanna was a fine teacher, hammering in her lessons with the point of her blade. She told him that he couldn't win with defense. The best he could hope for that way was to wear his opponent down and there wasn't much hope of wearing_ her_ down. Numair had learned to block, crescent cut, down-sweep, and under-cut well enough to take on most knights. But he had never bested Alanna even once. It was pretty much guaranteed that she would win and the best he could hope for was not to be too humiliated in the process.

Alanna's first strike was hard. Though he blocked it, the two swords rang together like a gong. Numair felt the vibrations pulse through his arm. Alanna was probably more angry at him right now than she had ever been. "Do you remember what we're in Carthak for?" she asked curtly.

Numair lunged back out of the way and switched hands before taking his first strike. It was a move Alanna had taught him. It might catch another opponent off-guard but not her. "Peace," he answered simply as he brought the sword in. She blocked it easily and with one fluid motion brought the sword underneath. He blocked it late and felt the magic shield shudder – a part of the spell designed to let him know he would be bleeding now if it weren't there.

"So why would you do something to so anger our host that he spends the entire morning glaring at you, instead of focusing on peace?" She spat the words at him and picked up her pace. The pressure of her anger was palpable. Numair was now working so hard to keep up that he couldn't have answered, even if he had some defense for his actions. "And didn't you promise Jon that you would protect Daine? This is not protection, Numair. You might just as well have painted a target on her back!"

Pass after pass Alanna and Numair fought, not speaking. Numair felt sweat pouring down his face from the effort. Twice more the energy field shimmered and he thought about the cuts that Alanna might have inflicted. A sudden kick to the knee took Numair to the ground and he felt, rather than saw Alanna's blade come up under his chin. He dropped the magic shield and she pulled back instantly before blood was drawn. "What in the Black God's name are you doing?"

Calmly, he replied, "I figured if you wanted my blood that badly I probably shouldn't stand in your way -- not that I'm standing."

Breathing heavily and cursing loudly, Alanna stumbled back. "I could've killed you."

"I would have deserved it," he replied simply. He looked up into her eyes apologetically, thinking again of the danger he had put Daine in by being foolish.

She offered him a hand and pulled him up. "You figured out that I talked to Daine. And you know from what she said this morning that she saw you attack Ozorne." These were not questions. "What in Mithros' name got into you?"

It was then that Numair noticed a mouse running across the floor and Alanna started to step back. "No!" Numair shouted. Black fire held Alanna in place while a smaller thread of black fire plucked the creature from beneath her and lifted it to Numair's hand.

"Wha –" Alanna began once she was released.

"You almost stepped on him." He petted the mouse who was cowering in his large palm. "He might be a friend of Daine's. When her friends die it hurts her -- physically."

A smile tugged at the corners of Alanna's lips and then her hand fluttered to her mouth. She wore a look of dawning comprehension, but of what Numair could not imagine. "Let's sit," she commanded. Numair bent and dropped his hand to the floor so the mouse could run away. Then he followed.

Sitting on the same bench where she had left her weapon, Alanna motioned for Numair to sit beside her. There seemed to be softness in her eyes now as she searched his face for something. He had never seen this side of her. It was – motherly. He supposed her children had seen her this way many times and probably George. But he was unsure why he was seeing it now. It left him uneasy. He thought to himself that he preferred angry Alanna. At least then he knew what to expect. "Help me understand," she said softly and she fixed her eyes on him with such a sympathetic stare that he did the last thing he wanted to. He cried.

Though only a few tears escaped, he was angry with himself for showing weakness. Numair turned his face away and said, "It was a stupid dream, a – a nightmare. I had a nightmare that unsettled me enough that I began to believe it was true. And instead of using my brain I ran off to protect her and made an ass of myself."

Alanna chuckled softly and Numair turned back to her pleadingly, "Please don't laugh at me. It's bad enough that I don't understand what's wrong with me. I'm not myself here. It's this place, I think…"

Alanna wore a knowing smile but was not being very forthcoming. "I was not laughing _at_ you. It was amusing that I walked in here thinking you'd made an ass of yourself and you went and said it for me." She had that look again – that gentle searching look. "Soon enough, you'll figure out what's wrong with you. It's not something someone else can tell you."

"Don't be cryptic. I have enough conundrums to sort without adding to them."

"Sorry, that's the best you're going to get from me." She appeared to be trying not to laugh. "Tell me about this nightmare."

So Numair told her. He never mentioned the prior dream but described the horror that he had awakened to and told her that he had never had a nightmare that vivid before. He could even remember a musky smell that he had not recognized earlier.

Alanna made the sign against evil reflexively. "I think I might have acted a little crazy in the same circumstance," she said finally. "But now we have a problem. You let him know she's your weakness and that makes him all the more likely to target her. So what now?"

Numair sighed heavily and tugged on his long nose. "Gods! The only thing I can think to do is to try and place myself between her and him as much as possible. And she's going to hate me for it."

Alanna wore that knowing smile again, "I doubt that very much."

There was a long silence before Numair spoke again. "If this plays out like I fear, we're going to dread our decision to come here. The way I figure it, I will be very lucky to get out of Carthak alive this time, though, I did come prepared for one or two of the more negative possibilities."

More business-like now, Alanna seemed to be contemplating the situation. Her eyes narrowed in focus, an expression Numair had seen many times before Alanna pulled a brilliant strategy out of thin air. This time, however, no real strategy came. "We have to hope for the best," she said. "Ozorne may realize that a war is undesireable. But there is life after the talks to consider. What if he turns right around and sends a spy after her?"

Numair shuddered at the thought. "Are you sure you don't want to just take my throat out now?" He was _mostly_ joking. Alanna's eyes flashed irritation. Numair thought, _There's the Alanna we know and love._

"I will do my best to keep an eye on Daine. I did warn her not to forget who Kaddar is. They seem to be – friendly. But she promised." Alanna chuckled.

"What?"

"I was just thinking of her response. Daine said she can't forget who Kaddar is because of all the jewelry he wears. You know Daine. She's practical and unimpressed by too much glitter."

Numair felt rather strange when he realized he was looking at the rings on his own hands. Dressed up for court, he tended to haul out all his jewels. He wondered if this was yet another thing Daine disliked about him. He also wondered if he shouldn't reevaluate how much like Ozorne he wanted to be. _Interchangeable_.

Alanna interrupted his musings with, "Speaking of remembering who people are, what on earth are you doing with that blond idiot? Do you realize your room smells so much like her I felt like peeking under the bed?"

Numair tried not to smile over the venomous way she'd said "blond idiot." Looking Alanna straight in the eye he said, "Things are not always what they seem, Alanna. You of all people should know that."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I believe you _seemed_ like a boy for quite some time in your youth. Isn't that right?"

Alanna looked thoughtful and said finally, "I don't _want_ to know what you do in your free time." She shook her head and silence fell again.

"That's what Daine thinks, isn't it. But I did not bed Varice."

"Daine is dear to you, isn't she?" She looked at him coyly.

"Yes. As she is to you, John, Thayet, Onua, Raoul, George, the list goes on and on. She got offered what – six homes after the battle at Pirate's Swoop? As you stated, I swore to protect her. And she is my closest friend right now. Not many people would put up with my love of books or my endless lists." He smiled. So did Alanna. Numair also thought about the secrets they shared. Taking a deep breath, he realized there was something more Alanna needed to know. "Alanna, I need to tell you something. Please understand this was a confidence, but I have to break it for Daine's protection."

"Alright."

Numair told her about how Daine's family was killed and the barrier he had built in Daine's mind to protect her from losing herself. "It's all a little hard to imagine, isn't it? Daine is such a gentle soul. Only grief over someone she loves that deeply could drive her to such ferocity." He stood and paced a little. "Anyway, if Ozorne were to succeed in killing me, her barrier would evaporate and she could lose herself in the nearest herd of ponies the very next time she reaches for her magic. The barrier needs other magic to reinforce it. That is something you could do. Maybe you could even do it without telling her. I don't want her to know that I think I might not make it out of here. There's no reason to scare her."

There was that annoyingly soft expression again. "I think you underestimate how strong Daine is." She patted his hand. "Don't worry, I'll do what I can for Daine the next time I help her with her hair."

"And please, never, ever tell her about my nightmare."

"You don't think she should know what terrifies you the most?" she asked with an innocent expression.

"No, I don't think she should know that I'm afraid I will fail to protect her," he answered darkly. "What kind of teacher cannot protect his student?"

"The human kind," she said simply. She reattached her sword. Both of them drew the magic warding from the corners of the room, and walked out. Their friendship had grown in that room, though it would be months before Numair knew how much.


	7. Chapter 7 Lightning

_**Disclaimer: The characters are from the Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce. She's the genius. I'm the wanna-be.**_

**Chapter 7 – Lightning**

When the gong rang indicating that it was time for talks to resume, the delegates filed back into the room. Alanna's disposition was warmer. Numair thought that talks might get back on track if he could only soften Ozorne's temper as easily. Everyone sat in the same seats they were in before. But there was already an air of distrust in the room. Twenty minutes into the meeting it became clear that Ozorne wanted the talks to fail.

They had started to make some headway on fishing rights when suddenly Ozorne cut in, "We think that there are many reasons to mistrust this situation and that we need something more effective to solidify our treaty."

"Such as?" Lord Martin of Meron asked hesitantly.

"Often peace is best achieved by way of a union between two sides. Prince Kaddar is heir to Carthak's empire. A marriage has not yet been arranged for him."

Duke Gareth whispered to Numair, "I don't like where this is going." His lips barely moved, but Numair heard him clearly.

"It is our understanding that King Jonathan has daughter – Kalasin?" The emperor continued malevolently. "It is our desire to have Kalasin betrothed to Kaddar. She could be brought in the spring to marry and live in Carthak."

"The princess is ten years old," Gareth the younger burst. "That's hardly appropriate…"

There was a buzzing of voices as the whole room erupted in discourse. Numair looked at the smug expression on Ozorne's face and turned to Alanna, who had remained unusually silent. "That son-of-a-bitch," she whispered icily. "He has to know that this will keep us from any sort of agreement."

"Oh, he knows. He wants a war. I have known Ozorne long enough to recognize his style of check-mate."

"He's lucky Thayet was not present. She would have castrated him."

"I was thinking that _you_ were showing amazing restraint in that regard," Numair whispered, eyes twinkling.

"You know me well. If I hadn't sworn to keep my cool, I might have made him eat a few of those jewels by now."

In the midst of the flurry of activity and storm of chatter, Ozorne rose. "We think it is best to leave it here for today. It will give you time to contact your king regarding his daughter. We will resume three hours after midday tomorrow." The man rose regally and left without so much as looking backward.

The Tortallan delegation spent the next two hours locked in Duke Gareth's room. They had protected the room magically against eavesdropping and proceeded to heatedly argue the day's events. Alanna and Numair decided not to explain Ozorne's animosity toward Numair that day but it was clear that Lord Martin knew something had happened and felt that whatever it was had put them in this position. The one thing the group was certain of was that Kalasin was not going to be betrothed at the tender age of ten. With little hope for the future of the peace accord, the group broke and Alanna and Numair headed out for some air.

Outside the guest quarters, a small garden faced the river. Alanna and Numair sat on a bench there, not speaking. It had been a lovely day, though they had missed most of it. There were no clouds in the sky. The scorching heat of the afternoon was slowly giving way to the cooler temperatures of the evening. After a long silence Numair finally said, "Are you missing George and the children?"

A smile spread from her lips to her eyes. Alanna said, "Yes, always. I never feel I have enough time with my little ones. And that scoundrel, George, ran off and stole my heart. All this time I still can't get it back."

For the first time in what felt like ages, Numair really laughed. "You two are cute, you know. Now don't kill me for saying so."

A warm laughter erupted from Alanna. "You sound like you might be a little afraid." She made a mock sneer. "But what precisely did you mean by _cute_?"

Numair chuckled. "You are a frightening lady when you want to be. You are the finest knight in the Realm. And it all goes to pieces when you greet your husband. You look like a pair of teenagers infatuated with one another. That's what I meant." He stood up and stretched a bit. He walked to the edge of the garden where there was a tree growing he had never seen before. His intellectual curiosity got the better of him, and he began to examine the leaves, wondering if he had read about this species. He would have to ask Lindhall what it was.

"That's love, Numair," Alanna said from behind him. "Haven't you ever been in love?" Numair looked at her when she said it. She had a strange smile. It was almost challenging him, somehow.

"No, I don't think I have. Though I _did_ think so on a couple of occasions. But time and distance have taught me that it wasn't real."

"Varice?" she asked slyly.

"Yes, I certainly thought I loved Varice once. But when I ran, I didn't ask her to go. I'm not sure why. I like to think it was because I cared about her safety and I didn't know what would happen to me. But I'm not sure that's the truth. However, she was special to me. In another situation maybe it would have turned into love."

"I doubt it. She's not the right woman for you."

"You always call it like you see it, don't you? So, Madam Omniscient, who is the one for me?" If Alanna answered his jest, he never heard it. For at that moment Daine came into view. She was walking with Kaddar and cradling Zek in her arms like a baby. Kaddar had Kitten on one hip and they were talking and smiling to someone further up the steps. The whole world melted away for Numair. The scene was so much like watching a man and wife with their two small children. Numair felt an ache like he had never known before. And out of nowhere, lightning split the sky, charring two statues on either side of Daine and Kaddar with a deafening roar.

Numair had no time to react or do anything. He cried, "Daine!" and started to climb the garden wall but a strong hand held him back. Alanna had grabbed his arm.

"She's perfectly fine. It looks to me as if the Gods were sending a message to Ozorne." She had a point. The two large statues of Ozorne that guarded the entrance had been reduced to globules of molten gold and charred, shattered marble. "Haven't you made enough foolish gestures for one day?"


	8. Chapter 8 Protecting Daine

**Disclaimer: As always, don't own anything you recognize. Aw shucks!**

**Chapter 8 – Protecting Daine**

Evening had come and with it, another banquet. Numair had dressed in crisp black linen breeches and a burgundy silk tunic with a regal collar. His black mage's robe again was open and loose. This evening he had limited his jewelry to his black opal pendant, amber drop ear-cuff and a ruby ring that protected the wearer from most poisons. He owned two of these, but he had taken the second one from its setting. He wanted to find a moment to give it to Daine. He thought that if he could turn it into a pendant, she could add it to the chain which held her badger claw. It was, however, something that would have to wait until later.

The banquet on this particular evening was being held on a large boat. Tables were set elegantly at the stern so the guests could look out over the water. Ozorne sat in lonely state on a raised deck above them. Numair looked up at the man. He wore a regal expression which could mean only one thing -- this was another simulacrum. Numair used his magical vision to try to find where the emperor might be. But if he was nearby under an invisibility spell, it was not within Numair's range of vision. Numair pulled a small rose quartz stone from his belt pack. A rune drawn in the air and a word in Old thak imbued it with a brilliant glow. He tucked it back into his pocket feeling smug. If Ozorne came within 20 yards of him while invisible, the whole ship wouldn't think Kitten's shrieks were whispers. There was one draw back -- it left him looking faintly shadowy around the edges. He hoped no one would notice.

Just then light sparkled at the corner of his eye – a speaking spell. Lindhall's voice whispered, "Everything is set for Kaddar to come to the university tomorrow. He has information for you. He will ask Daine if she's interested in a tour and she will hopefully agree. He would like you to get him word of a time when you can meet. I wouldn't advise doing a speaking spell from where you are sitting however. There are lip readers in amongst the servants present. You might be able to use one of your slight of hand tricks to slip him a note. I told him that if you do he should hang on until he's alone to read it. Tell him I said he 'has an excellent memory'. He will know." With the lightest 'pop' the spell was gone.

At that moment a wavering melody from a pipe whistle blew. Numair looked to the four mages stationed in the bow and stern. All wore the scarlet master-of-sorcery robes from the imperial university. There was one woman in the group and she wore a veil. _Naturally_, Numair thought. _They couldn't possibly fully recognize her accomplishments for what they are._ He silently thanked the Gods that Daine had not found her way down here two years ago. Since they didn't recognize wild magic down here and treated women as lower life forms, she likely would have been put to death without a second thought.

_Daine. There I go again, _he thought. He wondered idly if he were to count how often his mind wandered to her if he would be forced by the king to the opposite side of the country. _So I cannot pretend any longer. I'm attracted. And it is wrong. Rules – I should set rules and stick to them. I can and should keep her from harm. I can and should teach her as long as she wants to remain my student. I can and should treat her with the respect she deserves and give her the compliments she won't receive here. I cannot and should not allow my mind to see her unclothed ever again. I need aversion therapy._

He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had not noticed that the ship was moving. It was a magical exhibition, of course. No sails or oarsmen could have provided this velocity. _What a waste of magic,_ he thought.

Once again, Varice had set the places so that Numair and Daine were seated far apart. He noticed as he looked around that Kaddar was with Daine. They seemed to be having a very heavy discussion. Numair thought back to the negotiations. _Surely he realizes he is not free and that marriage will be arranged for him. _He tried to imagine Daine's reaction to the idea of Kalasin being betrothed to Kaddar. The princess and Daine were friends and had been since they had met. He watched the two talking and saw a smile dance on Daine's lips. The prince leaned closer as if the two were sharing something secret. He saw Daine's eyes search the room. It was a guilty expression as if she were looking for eavesdroppers. Were the two planning a rendezvous somewhere?

"…out here tonight. Arram, are you even listening? You seem a million miles away." Varice had reached for his hand and it pulled him from his ponderings.

She followed his vision and said, "They look good together, don't they? Do you think the emperor might consider allowing them –"

"No!" Numair said, a little more sharply than he had intended to. He softened and smiled hollowly, "I doubt very much whether Ozorne would want that match for his nephew when he was demanding the princess of Conte as recently as today."

A servant was placing the main course in front of them – stuffed duck. For some unknown reason, Numair found he wanted to throw it.

"Oh, I didn't realize there was a marriage in the negotiations." Varice looked confused. "I guess I didn't realize that the Tortallan Royals had a daughter of marriageable age."

"They don't. She's ten." He tried to quell the venom that had fallen into his voice. "Maybe Ozorne misunderstood." He saw Kaddar prop his hand under his chin. He seemed to be staring at Daine with admiration. Numair took two meditating breaths to calm himself and reviewed his rules. An internal argument ensued. _He will break her heart. But everyone gets their heart broken. She doesn't know that he's not free. If he is as honorable as Lindhall says, he will tell her. At his age, I don't know if I would have told her – maybe after I bedded her…_ That cinched the decision. With a little magic, he drew a message with the time to meet on a piece of parchment from his pocket. He folded it into his palm. Turning to Varice he said, "Please excuse me. I should go properly introduce myself to the prince."

As he closed the distance between them, he could not remember ever having been so nervous. _I'll pass the note. I'll discuss honor. Gods! She's going to hate me. But I promised to protect her. When she falls in love, the man she loves needs to be free to share her affections – free to adore her the way she deserves to be adored. _He took more steadying, meditative breaths. _Please don't hate me, Daine._

"May I join you?" Numair asked once he reached their table. He leaned forward and smiled his most polite smile at the Prince. He couldn't look at Daine. "We haven't really had a chance to chat. I understand you're studying with my friend, Lindhall Reed."

The prince nodded. Daine seemed to be paying more attention to Zek and Kitten than the conversation. Numair was grateful for this. "What course of studies, may I ask?"

"The relation of men, animals, and plants to one another, with a matching course in law. Next spring, if things permit, I hope to go south with Master Lindhall and a group from the university to look into the causes of the drought. We're hoping – well, the masters are; I'll just be there to carry things – we hope to find some way to end it. Five years is a long time."

"I see. Commendable." Numair was impressed. The prince seemed intelligent, thoughtful, and self-assured. Two more meditative breaths and then he asked the question. "With regard to your position as heir, has your uncle arranged a marriage for you?"

Daine look sharply at Numair, but he tried to avoid her eyes.

He watched Kaddar pass some duck bones to kitten. "He is negotiating with the king of Galla for the hand of one of his daughters. There is also a princess in the Copper Isles who my uncle feels is a possibility."

_He doesn't know about Kalasin,_ Numair thought regretfully. But he forged ahead. "I see. But you are involved with girls, are you not? Students at the university, young noblewomen. Are they aware you are not permitted to marry to please yourself?"

From the corner of his eye, Numair saw Daine blush crimson. She kicked him under the table – hard.

Kaddar had stiffened at sat up straighter. "No gentleman deceives a woman in that manner, sir."

"Indeed not." Numair responded. He felt more kicks. His shins were starting to ache. "Stop kicking me, Daine." He turned back to the prince trying to ignore the part of his mind that was saying, _Oh, she hates you now._ "You understand, she is very important to a number of powerful nobles and mages in Tortall." His voice softened but he focused on Kaddar to impress the point. "Their majesties. Lady Alanna and her husband, the baron of Pirate's Swoop. Me. All of us would take it amiss if we thought for one moment she was being trifled with, particularly by a young man who wasn't free to do the right thing by her."

"Numair," Daine growled. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?"

"No. Stepping on my foot won't work either. Do I make myself clear, Prince Kaddar?"

The younger man was now sitting rail straight, eyes glinting, "I understand you well, Master Salmalin."

"Good." Numair stood slowly. As he did so, he slipped the note into Kaddar's hand. The younger man didn't seem to immediately register it was there. "Lindhall tells me you also have an excellent memory. I hope so."

Kaddar suddenly registered the code that Lindhall had mentioned. He looked at his hand, but kept it closed. Daine had covered her face with her hands and missed the exchange. As Numair walked away, he distinctly heard her say, "I'm going to _kill_ him." A depression settled on him as he returned to his seat by Varice.


	9. Chapter 9 Message from the Gods

**A/N: **I needed quick character names so I hope a couple of fans don't mind appearing in my story.

Disclaimer: Most of this chapter belongs to Tamora Pierce -- even more than usual. I had to do that to maintain cannon integrity.

**Chapter 9 - Message from the Gods**

A moment after Numair returned to his seat, drums began to hammer, both on the boat and in the distance. Ozorne rose and walked to the bow, his guests following him. Moving under the power supplied by the master wizards, they had reached the imperial harbor at Thak's Gate in little more than an hour. This trip normally took three hours in the best of conditions. In the distance, Numair could see a lighthouse. Its beam illuminated a fleet of ships so large that it seemed to go on forever. In all his experience of battles, Numair had never seen a navy so large.

A horn call sounded from the harbormaster's tower on the breakwater. Sparks of magical Gifts flared from a hundred sources just beyond the lock. Fiery vines sprang from those sources to climb masts and twine around yardarms. More and more such tendrils erupted, each from a single ship, docked or anchored in the commercial harbor. Numair felt his stomach turn over and looked to find Daine in the throng of people. She and Kaddar had moved closer to the railing and were a mere ten feet away. He could have insisted she stay back in Corus. But he hadn't. This show of strength had a purpose and she was trapped in the front lines. He edged toward Daine and noticed as Varice followed.

Another horn call; a shout went up from the assembled fleets. The vines grew brighter, larger, until they burned white hot. Now the entire harbor was visible as colored lights reflected off of the smooth reflective surfaces of shield rims, armor and spear points. They were looking at war galleys with two and three banks of oars, fully manned. The horror of what these ships could do settled into his mind like lead. It seemed hopeless; insurmountable.

The whistle on the emperor's barge trilled again. Master Chioke', Master Templan, Master Silveni, and Master Azulono, the most powerful at the imperial university, stepped up to join the redrobed mages. They lifted their arms to point vertically, sending magical fire into the cloudless sky. The mages who had brought them downriver leaned over the rails, allowing their power to fall into the water.

Timbers creaked; wooden joints popped. Fire ran from one red-robe's hand to the next, until the hull lay fully illuminated. The power quartet then cried a single word, one Numair recognized as a spell to magnify magic. Streams of light from their hands broadened. Slowly the boat levitated, timbers groaning.

The crowd was the embodiment of silence. They seemed to be holding their breath en-masse for fear the smallest sound would distract the mages' focus. Enraged at the flaunting of such power, Numair thought silently that it was too bad he couldn't just blast the lot of them while they were too weakened to put up a good fight. It might save a lot of lives in the long run, but would definitely cost his own and the lives of people close to his heart on board.

The boat continued to rise. Sweat gleamed on the faces of the mages who controlled its motion. Clearly the emperor intended them to be lifted to a flying altitude. But to fly this ship for any length of time would drain the mages here and might end in catastrophe. Numair nervously began to run through the numerous spells he knew to pull them out of this mess. If he had to help he would need Alanna and Harailt. He searched the crowd for both,only to note thatAlanna was looking directly at him. He smiled, wondering if she was thinking the same thing. She moved closer but didn't say a word. It wasn't really necessary. Harailt was fairly close already.

At last the whistle shrieked again. The rising boat stopped, nearly eighty feet about the imperial harbor. The lighthouse beacon went out. From the harbormaster's tower came another, a higher timbre, one that was picked up by horns in the ships below. New fires sparked past the lighthouse tower. Like those in the harbor, these new flames became vines growing up and along some dark trellis. They flared, magic piercing the night to reveal hundreds of vessels lying at anchor past the harbor.

A metallic roar sounded. Torches were set to globes that burst into flame. They were balls of liquid fire, lit as they rested in the slings of catapults aboard the infamous Carthaki war barges. There were approximately twenty outside the harbor, forming solid ranks between the breakwater and the naval vessels farther out.

A loud whisper said, "Is he mad?" It was Kaddar, livid with anxiety. "This isn't just the northern fleet – he's brought the western one up as well! Did he do it to – to brag –"

Numair saw Varice rushing toward the prince to cut him off. She gripped his arm and ordered, "Shut up. What's the matter with you? Do you want to disappear like his _last_ heir?"

"But—" the boy started to argue. Numair's mind reeled. He had known that Ozorne had an older nephew who had once been the heir. The "official" story was that he had left to marry a young woman he fell for in the Yamani Islands, giving up his right to the throne for love. Perhaps Ozorne had simply eliminated him.

Numair watched as Daine elbowed Kaddar and snapped "She's right – shut up! Kitten then nipped his leg in warning. "If I tell her, she'll bite," Daine said. "You haven't been bit till a dragon does it."

Numair was starting to feel respect for the boy. He could understand the friendship Daine had built with the young man. Kaddar's hands clenched into fists, but he held his tongue. The silence was filled with nervous tension. Numair glanced around to memorize where everyone he cared about was. He knew a spell to gather and pull them all to safety but it would drain him. He reached for his black opal pendant just in case. The emperor's boat hung in the air for a few more moments, then descended slowly. He didn't breath freely again until they were safely in the water.

The red-robed mages who had brought them down river were replaced by four new, fresh masters. They clapped in unison and were bowing their heads when a ringing sound echoed through the air. It was followed by three more in a rhythm like the trotting of a horse.

The air around the harbormaster's tower was glowing. Numair could tell the mages were not expecting this. Like himself, they were looking around for the cause. The clanging drew nearer. Around the tower's side and down the shortest breakwater, encapsuled in an aura of light, appeared a golden rider on a golden horse. Numair recognized it immediately as the statue of Zernou, the first emperor. The statue stood in Market Square in Carthak City near the temple of Mithros. Numair and Ozorne had played on it in their youth and were severely reprimanded by a priest.

As curiosity overtook him, Numair moved closer to the sight. He said a quiet prayer to Mithros to not visit his wrath on the innocent. When horse and rider reached the loch between the imperial boat and the arbor, it stopped. The horse, reared, pawing the air with his forelegs. Numair had moved so close he could feel the wind pushed by the massive hooves. The rider cried out the Old Thak word for "woe" two times. Then in the same language he said, "Woe to the empire – we are forsaken. The gods are angry!"

Numair looked back to Daine, wishing he could magically send her back to Jon and Thayat. He imagined her reaction and smiled. She would tell him something to the effect of, "I can take care of my own self. Stop behaving like Cloud!"

He felt his rose quartz start to buzz and immediately discontinued the spell. Ozorne – the real one – had walked toward the railing from below deck. So mesmerized was he by the site they had all just seen, that he dropped his magic and shimmered into view, leaving his similacrum in full view, though most of the crowd was too stunned to notice. He turned to glare at Numair with an intensified hatred.


	10. Chapter 10 Of Desires and Dreams

**Disclaimer - I own nothing.**

**Chapter 10 – Of Desires and Dreams**

Numair walked down a long corridor. He was uncertain where he was. He had never been here before. He was sure that he should have some idea, but the mental focus he needed to figure it out was just not there. The walls were stone. The floor was covered in compacted dirt – or maybe it was a dirt floor. He was not sure. It just was not important. All that was important was to keep walking forward.

There was light. He was not sure of its source. Should this not bother him? It seemed like he might be underground. But then, he was sure he had never been here before. There were three doors ahead of him, where the corridor became wider and branched. Each door was marked with crude symbols in faintly glowing paint. There was a tree on one, a bird on the next, and a blocky symbol that looked reminiscent of a gallows. He didn't know why he chose that last without hesitation, but it led to a staircase which he followed down, down, down.

Now he knew where he was. This was the emperor's prison. He had seen it from the inside many years ago. And there in the first cell was Daine. She was dirty and naked. She wore only the hateful collar that controlled her mind. And Ozorne was there. He was torturing her – making her do things to please him. Numair cried her name but no sound escaped. She had that dead hollow look again. The emperor laughed sadistically and she turned to him. Was that a glimmer of recognition? Suddenly she started to change. Bare skin became spotted fur, her delicate features stretched into a powerful muzzle and jaw.

The collar burst from the female hyena's neck and she sank her teeth into Ozorne's throat. She ripped and tore flesh and sinew. Blood spurted. The victim never had a chance to cry out. The hyena pushed at the barred door. It had Daine's blue-gray eyes, but something was wrong. Numair reached out with his magic and saw her mind splinter and capsize in madness.

Numair awoke with a gasp. On the edge of his consciousness he smelled that same musky odor from the night before, only this time he noticed it immediately instead of understanding hours later. That scent was familiar but he couldn't place it. He looked around for some clue to its origin. His room was empty and nothing seemed disturbed from how he left it. The sky was still dark and the dream clung to him, beckoning.

He didn't really remember putting on a robe, or setting up the invisibility spell. He only vaguely remembered leaving his room and tapping lightly on her door and letting himself in when no answer came. But there he was, in the dead of night, standing in Daine's room. She was fine and sound asleep. She was lying on her side with her face to the edge of the bed closest to the window. Zek and Kitten snuggled in at her back. Kitten heard the door and looked around. But Numair became visible before she could whistle alarm, and he put his finger to his lips. He walked closer to the bed and whispered to Kitten, "I don't want to wake her. I just needed to check." Kitten watched warily but seemed to decide that since it was Numair it was okay. She snuggled back in.

Numair crouched by the edge of the bed, studying Daine's face. She didn't move at all or give any indication she could feel his presence. She was beautiful this way. Her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight. Her soft lips were closed. Her eyes flickered behind closed eyelids in dream. Her curls spread over the pillow leaving an almost artistic pattern. One curl had slipped in front of her eyes and he brushed it back softly. Her mouth curled up at the edges in a smile. Numair had the sudden overwhelming urge to press his lips to hers. A breathless excitement filled him at the thought of it and for an instant he almost succumbed. He even found that he had leaned in. Shocked at himself, he stood quickly. _What was that?_ He leaned against the window, breathing deeply.

When he felt like he could move again, Numair walked quietly to the door. He resumed his invisibility spell and crept back to his room. Once inside he sat on the edge of his bed and tried to process everything that had happened or almost happened.

_I am not a lustful teenager and I refuse to act like one_, he thought to himself. He reviewed the rules he had set for himself regarding his attraction. And, he thought about what the consequences of such a kiss might have been. It was not good. He could picture Daine waking to find his mouth pressed to hers. Since she had gone to sleep alone, she would have wondered who it was. She would pull away, see Numair and scream loudly -- or worse, transform into something large and hairy with big claws and lethal teeth. And then it would be over – he could no longer teach her. He doubted if she would want him near her for any reason.

The truth was Numair had learned as much from Daine as she had from him. She lacked refinement, but she was so practical and honest. She could cut to the heart of a matter by reducing it to its simplest form. When they discussed things, she was able to remove the complicated clutter and see the real picture. He had learned that from her. He had also learned so much about animals and begun to see the world in a different way that made it new and exciting again. There was no one he trusted more. She always had his back and he never had to question it. Her friendship meant more to him than he would dare admit to anyone. He would be devastated to lose her. But he _would_ lose her if he gave in to his desires. That was not an option. He put that moment aside and focused on what had taken him there in the first place.

He believed the dreams weren't natural. _If they are messages from the Gods then what are they trying to say?_ He wondered again at the similarities between the erotic dream and the erotic nightmare. _Am I doing something that could enslave her?_ There wasn't anything he could think of. _Is that to tell me I desire her and so does Ozorne?_ Clearly he did desire her, but he would not act on it and it _would_ go away. _But maybe Ozorne would act on it._ That seemed to fit with everything he knew of Ozorne. It was not unlikely the man would take what was not offered. He also knew that Ozorne had been behind what took place at Dunlath. Perhaps that knowledge was represented in dreams by the collar. The collar in his dreams did not completely control Daine though. She was able to change form. _Why would she let him rape her if there was any part of her that could fight?_ There had to be something else, some outside influence that was pushing Daine.

Back in Tortall, Numair had books that studied dreams. The premise was that some things in dreams are not what they appear to be. He could remember such things as snakes representing troubles or fears and falling representing a feeling of helplessness. He tried to identify the pieces of the three dreams he was working with now. Other than his presence, there was only one thing all the dreams had in common. _In all three dreams, Daine was naked._ Naked could be what it seemed. Men were naturally attracted to women in a state of undress. Naked could be vulnerable. _Is Daine vulnerable?_ The answer seemed obvious.

The next thing he tried to understand was the collar. Literally, it meant that Daine was being controlled or manipulated. It could either stand for something that Numair feared could happen or something that he was unconsciously aware was happening. Two of the dreams also had Ozorne. Perhaps Ozorne was part of the manipulating or was the reason for it.

The most recent dream showed Daine going mad. Numair shivered uncontrollably. He was disturbed by many facets of that vision. He knew he didn't have control over his dreams and yet he found himself angry that any part of him would use magic to search the girl's mind, but not to free her from her captor. He could not imagine what would make his mind pick a hyena as a form for her. That was one animal he had never seen her change into. She had never even seen them before the recent visit to the emperor's menagerie.

Madness was something she was deeply afraid of. She had avoided actually studying in the first couple of months that he taught her because she was afraid of the madness that had made her run with wolves. He could remember a conversation with her regarding madness. She was still afraid of it as recently as last year, when they visited Dunlath. He had told her then that when he searched her mind he found no genuine seed of madness. She teased that there were those who might think he was a little too touched to be a good judge. _But are there not circumstances that push a person over the threshold?_ He knew this was possible. _If she were to tear a man's throat out in hyena form, would that be enough to fracture her mind?_ _If she had been forced into that situation somehow, perhaps it would be._ That thought brought him no comfort.

The sky was becoming streaked with bits of light that promised sunrise. Numair gave up on sleep for the night and began to memorize the Carthaki spell books that Lindhall had delivered the night before. These contained the spells that opened the barrier to the divine realms. The emperor wouldn't let them leave the City with these tomes, but they could try to retain as much as possible. He knew Master Harailt would spend all morning in this pursuit. But Numair had other plans, so it was right that he should do his part now.


	11. Chapter 11 Conspiracy

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters and major plot outline belong to Tamora Pierce, the Goddess herself**

**Chapter 11 – Conspiracy**

The black hawk glided joyfully from the window of the Guest Quarters and out across the grounds. It had been some time since Numair had taken this shape and it was truly wonderful to feel the warm air flow through his feathers.

He tried to stick to a true hawk's flight pattern. He had not forgotten that Rikash recognized that the animals were behaving oddly while in Dunlath the prior year. It had almost cost Daine her life when she allowed animals to leave their normal patterns to help her. Numair was so happy to be free to go where he pleased that it was hardly difficult to be patient enough to swoop and soar.

Too soon he saw the columns of the university. He counted windows until he found the one that was Lindhall Reed's office. Lindhall was silhouetted, standing just back of the opening, waiting. Numair the hawk took one last sweep around the building to check for observers before winging gracefully through the window. Lindhall shut the window and said, "Without seeing it, I would never have believed it."

Where the hawk had come to rest, the tall mage now stood. Lindhall brought him the clothes that Numair had asked him to store. "What would you not believe?" Numair asked as he dressed.

"Ahh, the student has become the master. I would give all my gems to learn to shape shift. Of all the things you have learned since you lived among us, I envy that the most."

Numair smiled at the praise, but shifted uncomfortably. For all the teasing he took, Numair was not vane. Yes, it took him a long time to get ready for parties and he did take pains to make his appearance just right. But few people knew that it was books that made the process take a long time. He was easily distracted by the volumes in his tower. He wondered if Daine had ever noticed this paradox about him. She teased him enough about his slow preparation, and yet she had been camping with him so often that their routine was down to a science. She knew exactly how long he took to bathe and dress for those occasions and it really was not that long. _And damn it, I'm thinking about Daine again._

"If I can compel you back to Tortall, you may read the same books I did to learn. I could try to impart the knowledge to you magically, but it may not be something that one mage can understand exactly the way another does. It would be better to study the theory to –"

"That's quite alright, my friend. I doubt if I have the power to manage it. You tend to forget that your Gift quite exceeds my own." Lindhall chuckled good naturedly.

"You never cease to amaze me with your gracious nature."

"It isn't as easy as you think. Leaving the role of teacher when your student can do things you cannot -- it isn't easy." Despite his words, there was laughter in his eyes.

"So I'm learning."

"Ms. Sarrasri?"

"Yes. She is amazing. Her magic is so different and there are things she can do that I will never be able to, even if I study until I'm one hundred."

"Can she change into any animal?"

"We have yet to find one that she cannot become. Moreover, she can pull small aspects into her person. If she wants to see better she temporarily changes her eyes to that of a hawk; if she wants to hear better, she changes her ears to that of a bat…"

"Remarkable! Has she tried to put the pieces together to create a better animal?"

"Not yet, but it really is only a matter of time."

"My boy, what do you teach her now?"

"More or less it is academia now. However, she knows to bring new aspects of her magic to me if they appear. And we do spend time conducting experiments. There are spells the Gift allows that wild magic does not. She would like to find ways to harness her magic to see if she can do some of them. I oversee that for her safety and that of the kingdom."

"I imagine that your King is proud to have the pair of you. You would be very effective in battle together."

"Well, as you know from my letters, she is able to do more than I am. It is hard for an enemy to fight the horses, rodents and birds. And the kraken she called to destroy the ships – it was -- you wouldn't have believed it. It took a great deal of combined Gift from Alanna and myself to get it to go and it tried to take the bay with it. When Daine called that thing she was thirteen and she had known about her magic for weeks only."

"You are very proud, aren't you?"

Numair nodded. He realized he had been gushing and wondered if Lindhall thought anything amiss. He decided it was best to try to change the subject. So he pulled out the ruby that used to adorn one of his rings. "I have a little project I want to work on, if you don't mind."

The two laughed and talked, catching up on old days and worrying about the current state of things. While he talked, he fashioned a small bit of gold into a loop and connected it to the ruby with a little magic. It was now a pendant of protection. Before Numair knew it, an hour had passed and Lindhall went to meet Daine and Kaddar. Numair cast an invisibility spell and shimmered out of sight.

"…as if there is a sprite at work, not a spell." Lindhall was saying when he led Kaddar and Daine into the office. Numair noticed that Lindhall was carrying Kitten and he placed the dragon on the floor and dumped his robe next to her. "A small, not very clever, _spiteful_ one." Numair chuckled silently to himself as Lindhall's robe glided through the air to drape itself over a hook in the wall. Numair had adopted that spell for his own home and had forgotten he learned it right here.

Numair didn't know how Kitten would react to his invisibility spell. He focused on trying to stay out of her line of vision while Lindhall showed Daine his pets. However, Numair was distracted when Daine started talking to the animals. He forgot himself, watching her move gracefully from tank to tank to chat with the various inhabitants. Kitten's shrill whistles of ire let him know his folly. He ended the spell and shimmered into view.

"You _had _ to inform everyone," he scolded. But kitten nibbled on his breeches, affectionately. He smiled to himself. He couldn't stay angry. Kitten was like family to him, almost as if she were his child instead of a baby dragon. He scratched the top of her head.

"But – I saw you, in your room," Daine protested. She looked confused.

"It was a simulacrum. I'm expressly forbidden to leave the palace," he explained. It was actually a pretty good bit of magic, although the simulacrum in his room had nothing on the one waiting in the dark in Lindhall's workroom. That simulacrum was his insurance policy in case Ozorne became inhospitable.

"What if one of their mages came around, looking for you? What if the emperor spies on you?"

"I embodied it with sufficient amounts of my Gift to deceive anybody. Should someone try to disturb the copy, it will enclose the room completely, so no one will enter until I am back inside."

"And if you're caught?" she scolded, "He'd love to catch you breaking the rules!"

Numair wanted to say something to soothe her, but it was Kaddar who spoke next. "Daine, we had to talk. There's no other way we can do it without being spied on."

Daine turned on Kaddar and Lindhall. "You knew he'd be here this morning. That's why you brought me."

"I also wanted you to see _my_ friends." Lindhall stated softly. "You are more than welcome here in your own right, my dear."

Numair watched a smile slowly light her face and she nodded to Lindhall. But turning back to Numair, Daine said something that cut him to the bone, "You _could_ have trusted me."

He took her hands in his and looked into her blue-gray eyes. "I _do_ trust you, Magelet. I simply didn't wish to discuss it under Ozorne's roof. You aren't particularly adept at concealing your state of mind. You would have been visibly apprehensive if I had left with you and His Highness, whether I was invisible or not." He struggled to pull from her gaze. _Why was she affecting him like this?_ She looked crestfallen that he had not confided in her.

Then her lovely face broke into a scowl. "How _did_ you get here?"

Past a lump in his throat he answered, "Hawk shape. And now, we've little time and much to discuss." He felt like a traitor. It was right to stick to business however. "Would you mind looking at the aviary for a while? Or would you like to be privy to our discussions?"

"I'll go look at the birds," she said hastily. "I'm tired of secrets. Kit? Stay or go?" As Kitten shook her head and sat, Numair became aware that he still held both of Daine's hands. He let go reluctanctly and looked toward Lindhall to see if he had noticed. If he had, there were no outward signs. Numair realized he was behaving like a guilty man. He would have to distance himself from Daine, if he were to function normally.

Lindhall lead Daine to a door on the west wall and she left.

Kaddar became immediately focused on the job at hand. Nervously he approached Numair and began to speak. Numair silently set a truth spell to measure his honesty. "My uncle does not want peace. I don't know why he brought you here, but I do know that what we saw last night was a show of strength with a purpose." He began to go over information he had learned from talking to soldiers when he took Daine walking the day before. The navy and fighting mages were going to move against Tortall from four separate fronts. They had magical weapons numbering in the tens of thousands. He shared troop numbers and battleship armaments, turning whiter and whiter as he spoke.

The news was frightful. The Prince kept his back straight as he spoke though Numair knew it was difficult news to impart. _How odd that I disliked this young man upon our meeting. _Kaddar was Ozorne's blood relative, but apart from that there was little alike between them. Kaddar was more down to earth and had the nature of a leader. They didn't even resemble each other very much. Kaddar was much darker and had an open, eager face. And Numair knew that being related had little to do with nature. Alanna and her brother Thom were twins. History showed that they had completely different natures. Kaddar could no more help being related to Ozorne, than Jon could help being related to his dead and evil cousin Roger.

Then, Kaddar told Numair about the temples. If the Gods were unhappy they had plenty of reason to be. This was a frightening prospect to Numair who had known that Ozorne's respect for the Gods was limited, but had not realized he had lost it completely. He wanted to reasure Kaddar somehow, but there was little he could say. When one God was angry the results could be catostrophic. He could not imagine what would happen if they all were.

Numair put a hand on Kaddar's shoulder reassuringly. He knew that Kaddar had told the truth as he believed it to be and he knew that it had taken amazing courage to do what he had done. It was clearly treason against his emperor and it could cost him his life. But Kaddar had made the decision to do what was right for his people and what was right before the Gods. "If we can ride this storm, I promise you I will work to help you solve the drought to heal your lands and your countryman. I swear this upon my honor. King Jonathan of Conte' will receive your intelligence. And the King will know of your role in our future survival. When you inherit your reign, you will know our gratitude."


	12. Chapter 12 Bonedancer

**Disclaimer: I don't own it and I'm way too honest to claim I do. All rights to Tamora Pierce**

**Chapter 12 - Bonedancer**

Lindhall broke the silence that followed Numair's oath with, "Well, with that out of the way, I think we should go collect your – what did you call her -- Mageling?"

"Close," laughed Numair. "I call her Magelet. I admit that it fit better when she was a tiny thirteen-year old, but somehow I cannot let it go. It has become a term of endearment." Internally, he blanched. He had not meant that the way it came out and yet it was true.

There was a strange look on Kaddar's face that made Numair nervous. _I am lecherous and he knows it_, he thought beleagueredly.

Lindhall laughed. "As teachers, we do get set in our ways, do we not?" He walked toward the door where Daine had exited, apparently unaware that the other two men hung back.

"Master Salmalin," Kaddar whispered, "I had not realized that Daine was yours. When you spoke to me last night …"

"She is not mine," Numair said blushing against his will. "Daine belongs to herself as all women do. And I was merely watching out for her as I swore in oath to my King I would do. You misunderstand 'endearment' I think." Numair was glad to hear that his voice came out solid, because inside he was sputtering. _Daine would never be mine._ But there was something there, a knowledge he felt he could just turn and see if he looked at it the right way….

"Mithros bless, I didn't know you had the magical assemblage spell!" cried Lindhall. Numair was pulled instantly from his thoughts and he and Kaddar could only stare. A small skeleton, about the size of one of Lindhall's birds was crouching in front of Zek on the countertop. Next to it, Daine sat on a stool, looking resigned. The skeleton moved as if reanimated, though it lacked flesh, muscle and organs. It even lacked some of the bones it had required in life to move. Those spots were left blank, as if the ghost of a bone filled the empty space. Worse, cracked stone lay scattered on the countertop. Numair realized with horror that this had been a fossilized skeleton, released from its ancient tomb by Daine's latest power.

"It doesn't seem to matter if pieces are missing." Lindhall walked to the counter for a closer look at the creature. "But that's why I didn't use the assemblage spell on my own. It doesn't work if the skeleton is incomplete."

If it knew it was incomplete, the lizard-bird didn't act it. Looking around, it stretched, wagged its arms clumsily, then leaped off the counter. All four humans lunged to catch it. Numair and Kaddar accidentally knocked their heads together and pulled back stunned. The skeleton had managed to take flight, flapping awkwardly as if it still wore feathers.

"But there aren't any birds with claws in their arms!" Daine protested as the skeleton swooped and turned around the light-globe overhead. "And its bones are solid, not hollow like a bird's. Bats have sort-of-fingers, but they are genuine clawed toes, not like a bat's wing."

Listening to her words, Numair realized that this opened up a whole other world of questions. This creature had not been built aerodynamically for flying and yet it had. Now without feathers to help it glide on air, the skeleton still managed the feat. He wondered if magic held it up or if their concepts of flight were very misdirected.

"It was no bat. It is a link, between the dinosaurs in the Hall of Bones and animals – birds – alive now," Lindhall explained without taking his eyes from the flier. "The seers who look back in time have seen lizard-birds in the same era as the largest snake-necked dinosaurs and the lesser tyrant lizards. They have followed the lizard-bird's development, and it is true – it comes from the land walkers."

Numair had come closer to examine the skeletal creature. "Instead of scales, feathers," he picked up where Lindhall left off. "Also a bird's wishbone and a bird's gripping foot. But it has abdominal ribs, as reptiles do, and a flexible tail." He wished he could really take time to examine the creature. He watched it settle onto Lindhall's shoulder.

Kaddar leaned in to inspect the empty spaces in the bones and nearly got pecked. "Stop that," Lindhall ordered, stroking the creature's beak. "He was only looking."

The prince focused on Daine, questioning. "This isn't the assemblage spell. I've never seen anything like this in my life. What did you do to it?" He looked almost frightened.

Numair felt an urge to step in between them and tell Kaddar to back off. But Kitten did it for him. She squeaked reproachfully at Kaddar. Numair also saw the iguanas move in from the other room protectively. He smiled to himself.

"I can't – I'm not –" Daine was stammering and looking to Numair for help.

Numair rubbed his sore temple. That was where his head collided with Kaddar's. "I think you must explain," he said finally.

"These rooms are warded," Kaddar offered helpfully. "That's how I could talk with Master Numair safely.

Numair could see Lindhall's face light up with curiousity. He leaned against the counter and added, "What's in place here is unlike normal warding spells. The emperor must never suspect these rooms _are _warded or he would come to discover what I have that's worth concealment. If he or his servant mages try to eavesdrop in these rooms, they will hear only dull, innocent conversations and noises made by my animals." The skeletal creature on Lindhall's shoulder was now showing its affections, preening Lindhall's hair with its beak. Numair tried not to laugh.

He heard Daine whistle appreciatively. _That's my Magelet_, he thought and then chided himself for it. Still he couldn't help but be proud of how well she had learned her lessons. Clearly she understood the level of magic those kinds of spells took. "It's a new thing that's happened," Daine told Lindhall and Kaddar. "I'm not sure of the details … Numair, what should I say?" Her beautiful blue-gray eyes pleaded with him for direction.

"All that you told me yesterday," he answered softly. He knew these men could be trusted. He moved over and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Then she began to tell her tale.

While Daine was talking, Numair was adding the ruby locket to the clasp on the chain at the nape of her neck, being careful to keep her from noticing. She was involved in her story. Kaddar was staring out the window, absorbing the information with a look of pure fear. Lindhall saw what Numair was doing, but Numair put a finger to his lips and shook his head. It was enough for Lindhall to keep his silence. When the ruby was attached to the clasp on the back of her chain where she would not see it, Numair sent a little bit of his Gift to it to keep it in place. He did not want the clasp to float forward and alert her to its presence. Daine might not mind if she knew about the ruby, but in the current situation, Numair needed to avoid the awkward questions that might arise.

When at last she had finished the story, there was a long silence. She looked up at Numair, head tilted back and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. And then Numair saw something in her expression. He was not the only one keeping something to himself. He wondered what it could be.

Finally, Lindhall asked her, "You mean this isn't permanent? He'll stop being alive." The skeleton was now behaving like a spoiled pet, gnawing Lindhall's shirt buttons affectionately.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but it does seem to run out, after a time." Again her demeanor seemed to suggest that she was holding something back.

"You should try this in the Hall of Bones," Lindhall remarked, turning the skeleton's head from an opal necklace he wore under his shirt. "Stop that. If you bite it, you'll hurt yourself. Although I suppose it would be a bit inconvenient if any of the dinosaurs were to walk away."

Kaddar made a face at Daine, who giggled. "_Inconvenient_ puts it mildly," the Prince said. "But Daine's right to keep this secret. I hate to think what my uncle would do with someone who has such power. Can you imagine? An army of dead creatures that can't be hurt by normal means?"

Numair was still shuddering at the thought of what Ozorne might do to Daine. He felt compelled to pull her to him protectively, and stepped backward instead. "It would be precisely to his taste," Numair said quietly. Remembering that Daine wanted to be kept in the dark about a pending war but wanting to let her understand what was at stake he added, "He might decide such power was worth a war in Tortall, perhaps even all the Eastern Lands."

Kaddar glanced at him with an expression he could not read.

Breaking the tension, Lindhall said, "Well, while he's with us, I am going to call this one Bonedancer." He stroked the lizard-bird's skull. "There's one thing I find troublesome about all this, however. Numair is right – wild magic does not function this way, as far as we can determine. What _is_ the provenance of this power? Even the Black God is unable to give a semblance of life to the dead."

"Mynoss --?" suggested Kaddar. "No. He judges only."

Numair had given this subject quite a bit of thought before turning in the night before. He spoke quietly, "In _The Ekallatum Book of Tombs_ it's said the Queen of Chaos once raised an army of the dead."

Lindhall seemed to pick up the chain of thought. "But the _Scrolls of Qawe Icemage_ refute it. According to him, the Queen of Chaos assembled dead wood and stones to be her army. No, the only God, I believe, who can resurrect that which was once flesh and is now dead is the Graveyard Hag."

"That's right," Kaddar said. "Remember? There are legends of bonedancers – the resurrected dead – from the fall of the Ikhiyan dynasty, and the end of the Omanat priest-kings – " He stopped, realizing what he was telling them.

Numair looked at him sharply. The prince had gone to great pains to pretend he was not a scholar and yet here he was quoting a story Numair had not thought about in a very long time. The Gods had destroyed the Ikhiyan dynasty. The legends told of selfish leaders, the Omanat priest-kings who were willing to sacrifice every living thing in their lands for God-hood. It was these priest-kings who had developed the despicable blood-rain and used it on areas in the south of the land now known as Carthak. Some legends suggested that the area was not dessert then and that it remained sandy and desolate as a reminder from Mother Flame of the consequences of greed.

Suddenly, a force that Numair could not explain pushed him back toward Daine. He realized she was gasping. He caught her when her knees buckled and held her to a seat. He came around to kneel at her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked anxiously. "Bringing things to life tires you, doesn't it?" His eyes locked onto hers and he felt she wanted to tell him something but couldn't. Unable to pull his gaze away, he barely realized that Kaddar had left and returned with water and a glass.

But what Kaddar said next nearly pulled the breath from him. "We have to be careful talking about the Graveyard Hag," he was teasing good-naturedly. "Yesterday she had a coughing fit in the Hag's temple. It didn't let up until we were outside."

From behind them, Numair heard Lindhall say, "Should you have visited her temple?"

"We visited them _all_," Kaddar responded.

"It's my fault," Daine interjected hoarsely. "I wanted to look at them."

"Uncle can't fault me for doing it when he told me to take her wherever she wanted."

"No, of course not." Lindhall said. Numair's mind was bouncing around the possibilities. _Had this power come from the Graveyard Hag? Did Daine know? _He realized that if she did, she probably couldn't answer. And he wasn't sure how the power could have come from her if it was transported by the badger. He was barely listening when Lindhall said, "Numair, I think you must be getting back – it's almost noon. And what will you young people do? I could have lunch brought to us and then show you around a bit."

Daine smiled at Lindhall and said, "I'd like that, if it's all right with Kaddar. I can get to know _your_ friends better."

Numair stood, petting Daine's hair once and walked to the other side of the room. He began to shape-change. Only when he was a hawk and his clothing had completely dropped to the floor, did Lindhall open a door so he could fly into the garden and away. His mind did not leave the subject of Daine once on the way back to the castle.


	13. Chapter 13 Old Ghosts

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce. The rest came from my warped and sadistic mind. evil laugh  
**

**Chapter 13 – Old Ghosts**

Once again, Numair found it impossible to keep his mind on the negotiations. Ozorne had failed to show up and the Carthaki nobles were behaving like spoiled children. More than once Numair saw Alanna roll her eyes in disgust and even the normally unshakable Duke Gareth looked like he was on the edge of yelling.

Numair's mind wandered back to the conversations in Lindhall's Office. He didn't know how it was possible and yet it seemed right that the Graveyard Hag must have something to do with this mess. The Graveyard Hag was a minor goddess throughout most of the mortal world, but legend said she had more powers here in Carthak. She was a strange goddess, as well. While most goddesses were beautiful and eternally young, the Hag had a handful of teeth and was a wrinkled old woman. Her idols were always accompanied by rats (which gave most people the shivers) and hyenas. _Hyenas. _Numair's most recent nightmare swamped through his thoughts. He could see the splintering sanity and the lost mind that was the essence of his Magelet. _No, not mine. What is wrong with me?_

Of all the things he found beautiful about Daine, it was her mind that attracted him the most. There were times when Daine's self-effacing humor would lead her to call herself dumb. Numair could remember correcting her curtly on many occasions for those kinds of comments. She learned very, very quickly and she asked intelligent questions that always got to the heart of the matter. He could remember how quickly she learned anatomy of various animal species. Most of his students would say that anatomy was the most difficult subject of all. True, Daine didn't have the best vocabulary and she didn't read as voraciously as he did, but then most people considered that weird. Daine did have a common sense approach to life that Numair admired greatly. And she was honest and forthright with everyone. Those are all admirable traits. Numair couldn't imagine the loss of that beautiful mind.

Madness is one of those afflictions that scared Numair the most. He knew it was possible for a human to be there physically, without the capacity to function normally. But it seemed like such a cruel trick for the gods to play. He was certain that he would rather die than live such an empty life. If the message he was supposed to get was that Daine was in danger of losing her sanity if Ozorne took her, then he was sufficiently afraid.

_Madness._ How strange that his return to Carthak should come down to this. It was the infliction of madness that had driven a permanent wedge between himself and Ozorne. Back when their friendship had started to disintegrate, he saw a side of Ozorne that was beyond his ability to forgive. If he closed his eyes he could still hear the mind-screaming, still smell the stench of burned flesh, and still see the tortured slave as her mind collapsed.

He had been in the library at the university, absorbed in a large book about translating spells from ancient languages. He had known that Ozorne was conducting an "experiment" for a couple of weeks. He had felt a little left out and had moped about earning the consternation of most of his teachers. Even Lindhall Reed had voiced displeasure at his behavior. So when Ozorne ran in and told him he wanted to show him something, Arram had been ecstatic. He forgot the book in his hands and followed without question.

He followed Ozorne through a passage beneath Ozorne's suite and into an area he had only seen once before. Ozorne called it his "laboratory". Arram had been laughing – laughing like a child, unaware of the harsh reality he would soon come to know. But when Ozorne opened the door, it was as if the air had been sucked from his lungs. There was a waif of a slave girl – perhaps twelve years old – strapped to a pallet on the floor. She turned a bloodied face to him and there was desperation in her face.

"Okay, so if you look with your magic, you'll see that she has the Gift," the 19-year old Ozorne said. Arram had already noticed that. It was raw power. She had not been taught to meditate or focus at all. "That is why these are here," Ozorne continued with a sweeping gesture toward the seven hematite stones on the floor surrounding the girl. They were cancelling any magic that might escape. She was a prisoner in more ways than one.

"But you can't just…" Arram began.

Ozorne laughed. "Don't worry. She's a mute. No one will hear."

That had actually been the last thing he was worried about. Arram wanted someone to hear – to stop this. He stood frozen. He watched Ozorne, _his friend_, approach the girl and rub his hands together in anticipation. His mind seemed to lock in place too, trying to resolve the paradox of seeing his friend as a monster for the first time. He could have done something. Certainly, his Gift was greater than Ozorne's. He had kept that a secret at Lindhall Reed's suggestion. If there was ever a time to reveal the secret, that was it. But he didn't. He watched Ozorne approach the girl and drain her Gift, pulling it into himself. And then he watched the madness descend upon her. The Gift had been permanently removed from her, and its absence caused insanity as her fractured mind released its power. He saw the whole thing and he did nothing. He even stood there while Ozorne continued to pull from her life essence, charing her flesh and making her mind scream loud enough that he could hear her pain before she collapsed in death.

Arram followed Ozorne back to his suite, listening to this monster who used to be his friend laugh about his boosted energy. The spell only worked on the untrained, but Ozorne had plenty of slaves and there were bound to be some with the Gift. The thought of that horror taking place over and over was beyond devastating. Worse, this sadistic beast was to be his sovereign. Arram, realizing he still held the library book, made an excuse about needing to take it back. And outside the palace he vomited and sobbed like a child. That was where Lindhall Reed had found him nearly an hour later, still in a state of shock.

Lindhall had listened to the story and comforted Arram. He forgave Arram for what Arram could not forgive himself. Though they could do nothing for the girl, they could keep it from happening to other slaves. From that point on, they had worked to get slaves out of the country. The priority was on those with the Gift, of course, as they were in the most danger. They worked for a year before Ozorne became suspicious of Arram and locked him away. Arram had not given up Lindhall and their other associates. That was why he had been sentenced to death. He most certainly would have died, had he not escaped.

Somehow, Lindhall had managed to continue the work all of this time without being detected. Numair still sent him money and maintained contact with the associates in Tyra who accepted the refugees.

Now, Numair wondered if the nightmare was just his mind revisiting the child he had let Ozorne violate. He realized he was shaking about the same time that Alanna did. She covered his large hand with her smaller one and mouthed the words, "Are you okay?"

He nodded and leaned in to whisper, "Don't worry, Alanna. I'm just being haunted by old ghosts."

She searched his eyes sympathetically. Suddenly both of them realized that the arguing around them had grown louder. Duke Etiakret, head of the Carthaki negotiators was swearing loudly.

Duke Gareth calmly said, "Really, I think you are being quite unreasonable. Though Tortall's King and Queen would be willing to buy some silk, dyes and glass from Carthak, we have commitments to others we trade with. We cannot limit our purchases to those products made in Carthak. We will not go back on our word to Tyra and Galla. Both of those countries negotiated trade agreements with us. Tyra, as you know, produces fine silks and dyes. And Galla is known for its glass. These agreements…."

He stopped talking abruptly when Etiakret cursed and stormed from the room.

Alanna leaned in and whispered, "When my children threw tantrums like that, I spanked them."

Numair struggled not to laugh.

The door flew open again and Etiakret had returned for one more shot, "And we will not be turning over Lord Krenia to be judged by the likes of you." He left shouting more expletives.

An angry whisper, much like the buzzing of bees, grew within the Tortallan delegation. Krenia was one of the pirates charged with raiding Tortall. During the prior day's negotiations, this had been easily agreed upon. Now it was being taken off the table. Gareth rose and bowed to the other Carthaki delegates. "It seems we have reached an impasse today. I hope that we will overcome it tomorrow. However, tempers are taxed and we think it wise to halt for now. Do you agree?"

The Carthakis never really answered, but they couldn't continue legally without either Ozorne or Etiakret present. It had been a politically tactful offer by Gareth to request the break. He had put it on himself, which made it possible for the Carthakis to open without apology the next day. Numair nodded to Gareth, amazed at his negotiating skills.

"I'm glad he's in charge," Numair whispered to Alanna. "My best diplomatic urgings had something to with throwing fire at their breeches." Alanna laughed heartily.


	14. Chapter 14 Rats

**Disclaimer: The characters and story outline belong to Tamora Pierce. I'm a usurper.**

**CHAPTER 14 – RATS**

The sun was slowly creeping over the western plains, leaving an unusual array of colors. Numair stood at his window staring at the greenish hues that speckled the usual oranges and purples of a desert sunset. Sunsets were usually colored with variations of red for a reason. Green, a color that fell on the spectrum between yellow and blue did not belong in a sunset. Numair had a creeping sensation of foreboding, as if something horriblewere on the way.

He was dressed for the banquet, but was in no hurry to be in Ozorne's presence again. He had decided to spend a little time updating his knowledge on the Graveyard Hag. He turned his attention back to the book in his lap, but didn't get to read so much as a sentence before he heard someone knock on his door.

He opened his door to find Lindhall Reed standing there, dressed smartly for the banquet. "Good evening Arra – Numair, I'll never get used to it. How are you?"

"I'm good, considering I'm still in Carthak." They shared a knowing smile as Numair stepped back and ushered his friend into the room. He closed the door and sent black fire to the corners to ward the room. He wasn't sure if Lindhall had come to talk to him about any private matters, he just hated the thought that he couldn't have private conversations.

"I hear negotiations did not go very well today," Lindhall started.

"That is quite an understatement. The lead negotiator walked out in a huff."

"Do you think it will be straightened out?" Lindhall asked absentmindedly. He looked like he was trying to find a way to say something difficult.

Numair patted his shoulder. "You and I have been friends a long time Lindhall. Just say what's on your mind."

Lindhall looked relieved. "I wanted – I intend to take you up on your offer. I've turned in my resignation. Will I still be welcome in Corus?"

Numair's face split into a grin. "Really? You'll come back with us?" He was so excited he felt like whooping. "Yes, of course you're welcome. Why in the world would you be so hesitant to tell me that?"

Lindhall looked like a weight had been taken from him. "I thought you would be disappointed in me. I have spent a long time helping as many slaves as I could. Now I'm walking away."

"You've done more than could ever be expected of you, and it's time for you to live your life."

Lindhall sat in a chair by the door. "I am so grateful you see it that way. I won't be leaving the slaves to their fates either. Others will continue for me."

"There was never any question. You are a good man. I wish I was more like you."

"Now don't sell yourself short. You have made your old teacher proud in many ways. You are like a son to me. You have even carried on my chosen profession and done an amazing job."

Numair swallowed hard. He smiled and wondered what to say. Lindhall could not have given him a greater compliment. He whispered a hoarse, "Thank you, sir." And a silence fell and hung for a moment.

At last Lindhall smiled and stood, "It has been driving me crazy all day. What was that you added to Miss Daine's necklace?"

"Oh, an anti-poison ruby." He automatically looked to his remaining ring.

Lindhall smiled a sly smile. "Ahh so that's where your second ruby ring disappeared to."

Numair blushed involuntarily. "Yes, one of the pair that _you_ sent me as a gift. I hope you don't mind."

Lindhall looked like he was considering something. "Are you this generous with all your students?"

"The – the truth is Daine is -- special. I don't – we have a friendship. Fate has thrown us into battles together where we have had to rely upon the other completely. I like to think I'm generous with all my students, but I know it isn't the same." He shrugged nervously. "And then I've made some stupid mistakes while here that let Ozorne know I care about her welfare. Additionally, you know what it's like when you have a student who is unique in their own right and…"

"It's all right. You don't have to defend your actions. Actually, I think it was a wise move. I admit I'm surprised that you surrendered a gift like that, but it shows me you have your priorities right. You have always had a better conscience than most of my students. Most black-robe mages don't think twice of using words of power for gain. You always worry about the consequences. There is a reason the Gods chose to bestow the level of power they did on you."

Numair shifted uncomfortably and blushed deeper. Once again he was at a loss for words. Finally he said, "All this praise is not good for my humility."

"Well I'll stop it then." Lindhall smiled. "So you think Ozorne will target her?" Numair nodded. "You do realize the ruby can only protect against outright poisons?"

"Yes. But it will slow down some other potions. If, for example, Ozorne tried to drug her with a sleeping draft, it would take more than average and she would wake up quicker than he would expect. That's true of dreamrose, sassapen, molentile oil, and the like. Hemlock tea and belladonna oil would be counteracted because the ruby sees them as poison, since they will kill a person in large quantities."

"My boy, you could be a magical encyclopedia. You know that right?"

One hour later Numair was sitting next to Varice at yet another banquet. This time they were on a series of broad, shallow terraces overlooking a decorative lake. Numair could barely see Daine and Kaddar as they chatted happily. Meanwhile, Varice had been talking his ear off. He was barely listening to her. He kept thinking about the strange sunset and wondering what weird event would happen this evening. The only thing he was certain of was that the Gods were far too imaginative to send lightning again. That was barely a comforting thought.

"Arram, you are a million miles away. What are you thinking about?" Varice's voice broke through his thoughts.

He turned and tried to smile in a friendly manner. He didn't quite make it. "Things aren't going well, Varice. And can't you please call me Numair?"

"Things aren't that bad. It may seem like it now. But I'm sure it will get better tomorrow." She waived her hand as if pushing negative thoughts aside.

"Did you know Ozorne didn't even bother to attend today?" He watched her face for a reaction and seeing none he said, "You know it never ceases to amaze me. You don't get wrapped up in anything. Nothing affects you – you're oblivious. I've lost count of how many parties this is now while the people in the south of this country starve. Last night a statue came to life and charged over to tell him the empire was forsaken. Now here we are in our finery again, as if nothing happened. Don't you ever get tired of frivolity?"

She should have been insulted, but "oblivious" seemed to be an apt description. With another waive of her hand she answered, "I am _not_ going to let those things ruin his party, Numair. His Imperial Highness was simply in a mood. Etiakret will come to your people tomorrow, all smiles and conciliation – just you watch. Try the dormice, won't you? They're rolled in honey and poppy seeds and saffron. They are quite lovely."

He imagined the pained look on Daine's face at the thought of Dormice as snacks. He took one politely and she smiled. Motioning around them he asked, "How do you manage seating arrangements with this many people without running across a few feuds? I doubt if I could."

She beamed and looked around them. He quietly tossed the dormouse into the pond and looked back at her innocently. It may be a delicacy (especially since it was spiced with saffron) but to him it was not something for human consumption. He hoped a pond inhabitant might find it tasty. He thought about the field mouse he had snatched from beneath Alanna's foot and wondered again at the way she had looked at him after.

Varice, meanwhile, was rattling on about the pitfalls of hosting parties. It was like noise to him. He wondered if she had always been this irritating and, if so, how he had failed to notice before. Numair suddenly realized Alanna was looking right at him. She seemed very amused that he was so obviously not listening to Varice's diatribe. He shrugged apologetically. He saw her cover her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"…really good aren't they, Arra--- I mean – Numair. Would you like another?"

"Umm, no, I better not," he said, trying to sound as if he were tempted. "I have to save room for other indulgences." He nearly laughed at his own flippancy.

Throughout dinner, Varice continued to boast about various events she had planned. He tried to nod occasionally and look interested. But he was too busy looking for the impending disaster to really hear much of what she said. He was beginning to think maybe he had misjudged the signs when Varice told him she needed to go to her "masterpiece".

Musicians were tuning their instruments as several slaves pushed a large metal cart slowly down the line of tables. The cart held an immense cake that was an exact replica of the palace, right down to each bay, ell and tower. He could see why she was proud. Looking at it with his magical vision, he could see traces of her light blue Gift glittering from it. Clearly the confection would not hold together without a little magic. It was gigantic and looked truly delicious. Varice beamed happily as the crowd applauded.

Varice offered the pastry knife to Ozorne so that he could cut the cake, but he smiled and indicated that she should have that honor. She bowed graciously and turned to tend to her task. Then suddenly, she shrieked. From somewhere, Numair heard the sound of breaking glass followed by dozens of horrified screams and gasps. Hundreds of black and brown rats began to pour from a hole in the front of the cake. Their numbers seemed endless as if a portal from another dimension had opened there and the creatures were swarming through. A few tried to scamper up Varice's skirt. Numair saw Alanna race forward, reaching for a sword she didn't wear. The mages seemed to be dumbfounded, trying to decide how to destroy the rodents without injuring Varice.

Numair stood, intending to pull Varice from the sea of rats with his own Gift, when he heard Daine cry, "Stop!" He stared at her afraid she would try to control this onslaught and that it would endanger her. Rats were definitely servants to the Graveyard Hag. If there was any doubt before, this put an end to it. "I said, _stop_!" He watched her copper fire grow and burst, flooding the dirty creatures and keeping them still.

"Imperial majesty!" someone cried. It must have broken Daine's concentration because the rats broke free and six of them flew right at her face. She slammed her power into them killing three instantly. One caught her sleeve with its teeth. She shook it away. Numair sent black fire to torch as many rats as he dared without endangering the girl. Then he realized the unknown man was still yelling, "Majesty, even you can't continue to ignore the portents! You must –"

Emerald fire illuminated the man. He was a Carthaki noble and he was being burned by the emperor. He shrieked only once before being consumed by Ozorne's magical tantrum, though the smell of charred human flesh remained.

Numair saw Daine's magic swell and capture the rats again. Now her orders, if there were any, were silent. She looked furious and her power reached a pinnacle Numair had not seen before. To him, she was lit brilliantly by her wild magic. At the zenith of her fire, the rats turned and rushed back into the cake. They disappeared into whatever hell they had come from and the cake collapsed.

Numair pulled his bottle of wakeflower from a pocket and handed it to Harailt, motioning toward Varice. He climbed over the table and rushed to Daine. Cupping her lovely face in one of his large hands, he pleaded, "Are you alright? One of them bit you --"

"Didn't even nick the skin," she halted him, holding up her arm to show the rip in her sleeve. "It was only rats, Numair."

There were thousands of things he wanted to say. Part of him even wanted to scold her for using so much magic. He wanted to hold her and thank the Gods that she hadn't been injured. He didn't do any of that. He turned and looked at the chaos around them instead. Slaves hid in the shadows, whispered arguments hissed above the murmurs of the crowd, and Alanna was whispering something in Kaddar's ear.

Finally, he said, "We need to get out of here before the sky starts raining blood or something equally pleasant. Where's Ozorne?"

The emperor was gone.

Varice rushed over to Numair and clung to him sobbing. He patted her back, consolingly. But his eyes were on Daine, who was now talking with Kaddar. Alanna, meanwhile, was glaring at Varice, who seemed to think she was attached Numair's chest. All around them Carthakis and Tortallans alike talked in whispers of the ominous signs. Numair saw Kaddar leave Daine's side long enough to say something to Alanna and then return to lead Daine away. He felt a lump in his throat as he watched the two exit.

Alanna came over and answered his unasked question. "She wanted to leave. They are going back to the menagerie. I think I'm calling it a night. I suddenly have the incredible urge to pray."

"As do I," Numair stated sardonically. "I'm going to escort Varice to her room and then do some research." With a significant look he added, "Do you know much about the Graveyard Hag?"

Alanna seemed to stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes opened wide and she reached to her neck for something that didn't seem to be there.

Numair asked a nearby noble where he might find some sassapen powder for Varice and the man said he could have some sent to her room. "Sassapen?" Alanna asked.

"For dreamless sleep," he answered. He led Varice toward the door.


	15. Chapter 15 Daine's Death

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or plot outline -- just the subplots. The rest is Tamora Pierce's. All hale!**

**Chapter 15 – Daine's Death**

Numair walked down a long corridor. This time he knew where he was. He had been here before. He was surely asleep and dreaming. He didn't know how he knew that. He didn't think he had ever been aware he was dreaming before. But this time there was no question. He could smell that same musky smell and he focused on it while his feet took him along the path he was compelled to walk.

He came to where the corridor became wider and branched. There would be doors at the end marked with crude symbols in faintly glowing paint. He would pick the door with the gallows, walk down the staircase and see Daine as Ozorne tortured her. Then he would see her turn to a hyena and rip his throat out. And he would watch her precious mind disintegrate. He tried to stop his feet. But he couldn't.

He was descending the stairs, trepidation in every stride. Then, abruptly something changed. He saw the Badger – no he was the Badger. And – no, it could not be – he saw and felt Daine die. She was in the Hall of Bones, collapsed beside a reanimated skeleton, and she was dead.

There was no air in Numair's lungs. Propelled into consciousness with the inexplicable knowledge that this was real, he heard his own howl in grief, "Alanna!" like he had cried two years before when Daine had stopped her own heart to talk to dolphins. But Alanna would not hear. He had warded the room out of a selfish desire for true privacy. Besides, even if Alanna could hear there would not be enough time to reach the Hall of Bones. She was gone and there was nothing any mortal could do to save her. He drew his knees to his chest, forcing the books he had fallen asleep reading to crash to the floor. His blood pounded in his veins and he became aware that he was sobbing.

He could picture her the way he first saw her. She seemed so large while he was a hawk. Then when he saw her from the right perspective she was so small and so young. _She was far too young to die. She shouldn't even have been here. She should have been back in Tortall with Onua and Cloud._ He tried to rectify it in his mind. It didn't make sense. How could he know? He didn't have visions or prophesy dreams. He replayed in his mind all that he had experiencef. If the Badger really was there, then the Badger was sending him these messages. The Badger passed this gift to her – _the gift that cost her life_, he thought bitterly.

Suddenly he understood everything and he was angry. He stood up and walked to his pack. He dug out his herb kit and pulled out some vervane root. At the empty fireplace grate he lit a magical fire. Then he tossed some of the herb into the fire and ordered, "Badger!" followed by some well chosen words in old Thak. He had no idea if it would work since the Badger was an animal god. He sat and waited, growing angrier by the second. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. He stood to try the spell again when saw a flash of silvery light bloom and the Badger appeared before him, hackles raised.

-- _What is the meaning of this, Mage?-- _the Badger roared into his mind.

"Can you bring her back? She died because of you. Can you bring her back?"

--_Calm down, Mage, she's fine. I sent her back to bed. She's probably back right now.--_

Numair sat down on the bed, hard. "She's alright?" he choked.

He could have sworn the Badger smiled, except Badgers don't smile. _--Gods don't lie, you know that.--_

"Is that so?" Numair had suffered the worst kind of grief, anger and fear in far too short a span of time to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "In your mind, leaving Daine to think what you gave her was from you, is not a lie?"

The Badger growled and his fur sparked. –_I told her what I was allowed to tell her. You seem to think I'm one of the great Gods. I don't always get a choice. –_

"So instead you leave her vulnerable? I thought you sought to protect her_."_

_-- If I wasn't doing everything I could to protect her, I would not be here. I would not have sent you messages and I would not have brought her back. Don't be disrespectful to me, Mage. I don't answer to you -- _

The Badger's mindvoice was starting to make Numair's head ache. He took a couple of meditative breaths trying to calm himself. "I'm sorry. You dragged me into that dream and through you I felt her die. I've been – distraught."

The Badger paced a little. _– I suppos that's understandable then. I see you've put together that the messages were from me. I asked Gainel for his help –_

"Badger, do you have any idea how much those four dreams have tortured me? If you wanted me to do something, why didn't you just come and tell me?"

_-- I told you I was not supposed to interfere --_

Numair nodded. "I understand. You couldn't let it lie because you knew the Graveyard Hag might damage Daine." Numair was suddenly cold. It was still a warm night out, but he supposed that it was stress of the night. He rubbed his own bare arms and shivered.

The Badger sneezed. _–So you figured out she is part of this?—_

"I doubt very much if you would have led Daine to me if I were stupid."

Twice more the Badger sneezed. Daine had told Numair that she thought this was how he laughed. Now it seemed that must be true. _–You did figure out the first message rather quickly. I'm impressed that you were able to get your purple-eyed friend to help so fast.—_

"And the second one? I need to keep her from savaging him as an animal?"

_--Yes. It is quite important that you do.—_

"Wouldn't it just be easier to get her out of here before Ozorne can cause her any harm?"

_--That would be preferable, but may not be an option.—_

"I just can't see her becoming that violent, Badger. But I'll heed your warning. You know I'll do everything you ask. But couldn't you just drop by and give me a message? Even just have Gainel tell me straight out – what if I hadn't figured out your riddles?"

_--Hmmph! You sound just like my Kitt.—_

Numair smiled weakly, realizing the Badger was referring to Daine. "Badger, in case I haven't said it already. Thank you – for her life – thank you."

_--You're welcome. Just don't let me down.—_

"I won't."

The Badger nodded. _–And one more thing. I sent you three dreams, not four.-- _With that he disappeared in a flash of silvery light.

Numair rose, and got dressed for the day. It was still dark and a long time until dawn, but now he had too much to think about to sleep again any time soon. He had the strong desire to look in on Daine again. But he resisted the urge. As the Badger had told him, Gods couldn't lie. She was safe and whole and he needed to keep her that way.


	16. Chapter 16 the Mission

**Chapter 16 - the Mission**

**_A/N: In this chapter, you get a glimpse of how Numair can be considered the most powerful mage even when Alanna's in the same room. Alanna, as a former Shaman and a healer, is very powerful in her own right. Hopefully I didn't go too far._**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tamora Pierce, as does the main outline and some dialogue. I'm just borrowing it.**

"I haven't seen Daine yet this morning. Have you?" Alanna asked at breakfast.

"No. But I think we should let her sleep. I happen to know she had a late night visit from her Badger friend," he said in a low voice.

Alanna's eyes opened wide and she nearly dropped her fork. "When you're done, we can go and talk," Numair said.

Once inside his warded room, Alanna said, "Spill!"

"Spill?" Numair was in a good mood. He couldn't explain it. He didn't normally like mornings. He should still be filled with trepidation. He had hardly slept. There were a hundred reasons for him to be cranky, but he was all smiles instead.

"What has gotten into you this morning?" Alanna growled.

"I don't know exactly. I guess I'm far too grateful that the Badger brought her back to like to allow any negativity this morning."

"Brought her – what?" she shouted.

Numair explained. Alanna's reaction was like that of a great audience at a campfire tale. She gasped in all the right places. She came to her feet, turned pale and shook when he described waking to the knowledge that Daine had died. She looked properly afraid when he described using the God summoning spell on the Badger. And she looked like she wanted to draw blood when he described learning that the Graveyard Hag had pushed the Badger into putting Daine in danger.

" … so she's alive and safe and probably very tired," he finished.

"But do you realize what this means? And if you don't stop smiling, I'm going to thump you."

"Yes, I know what it means and no, I can't help it. For twenty horrible minutes I believed she was dead. I grieved for my friend. I relived memories and discovered there were far too few of them. And then I summoned and yelled at a _God_. I experienced a full range of human emotions in a span of a half hour – fear, sorrow, grief, horror, desperation, resignation, anger, relief, fear again. You'll need to threaten me with more than a 'thumping' to wipe the smile off my face today."

Alanna looked like she was trying not to smile, then failed. "She's okay now?"

"Yes. And it seems to me that asleep in her room is a safe place for her. While she's not out of danger, there is hope."

"Well, I can't argue with that."

"So, anyway, I think we should go wind up our negotiations and get out of Carthak as fast as we can. If the Carthakis really are conciliatory today, let's work it to our advantage. I know that Gareth left us in a good diplomatic position. I would kiss his rings, but he might take it the wrong way."

Alanna laughed.

"I think if we use the right combination of friendly gestures and unspoken threats, we can obtain our treaty and go.

They discussed and planned for 30 minutes more, bringing Gareth in on the plan, once they had put it together. It was a cheerful negotiating team that entered the conferencing room when the gong rang. But what they saw inside took all the cheer right out of them.

The emperor sat in his raised chair, a smug look on his face. The room was filled with guards, a handful of Carthaki nobles, and all the foreign ambassadors. Etiakret was not present at all. Soldiers walked in behind the Tortallan delegates and blocked their exit. They held four hematite stones and Numair realized there were three more in the hands of the soldiers in front of him. The circle of seven was complete and there would be no magical escape from whatever Ozorne had in store.

Ozorne stood and began to pace, his eyes flashing dangerously. "So." He glared at the delegates. "So you brought an ambassador to our country who had another agenda. And now that ambassador is running free in our Kingdom, making trouble to destabilize my rule."

Duke Gareth bowed to Ozorne and said, "Please Your Highness, we have no knowledge of the events of which you are speaking. Every negotiator is here – everyone of our delegation, except…."

"Veralidaine Sarrasri!" the emperor finished in a roar. "She was to meet my nephew this morning. Except when he arrived at her rooms he found this instead." He passed a piece of paper to a soldier, who in turn passed it to Gareth.

One by one, it passed through the hands of the delegates. When it reached Numair's hands he read it.

_ I cannot stand by and watch people suffer in slavery.. __I must find a way to help or die trying.. __Please try and understand. – Daine_

The language wasn't right. The handwriting wasn't even close to right. "This is a pathetic forgery," Numair roared. "What have you done with her? If you've hurt her…." A sword to his throat ended his outburst. He saw Alanna step forward, reaching for a sword she once again was not wearing. Gareth grabbed her upper arm and shook his head with a look that warned her not to die in vain.

"You dare accuse us of forgery?" Ozorne screamed, green lightning balling in his hands. "_She_ has done this. _She_ made her own decision and _she _is now a criminal to the Kingdom of Carthak. When we find her she will be executed. But we are not barbarians. If you leave quietly, your lives will be spared. I have dispatched slaves to pack your things. They will take you to a ferry and to your ship. We expect your dispatch by midday. But you can tell your king that his foolish decision to send someone outside his control has cost us all our chance at peace."

A rage like Numair had never known grew inside him and burst. A palpable pressure rushed him, but he felt excited by it – electrified. And a loud explosion sounded. One of the hematite stones burst. _This was not possible_. Alanna looked at him with eyes wider than he had ever seen. He wanted to tear Ozorne limb from limb, but the four most powerful mages in Carthak appeared in the door and paralyzed him with their combined power.

"Temper, temper," Ozorne derided smoothly. Numair was pleased to see a slight look of fear in his eyes however, and a bead of sweat fell from his hairline.

Mages and soldiers surrounded them as they were walked out of the room. Slaves brought them their belongings at the entrance to the guest quarters. Numair heard Alanna ask if they would be taking Daine's things as well. Ozorne answered icily, "She took her things with her. Look for yourself, she left nothing."

The group was then paraded through her empty room. Numair knew it was all part of the lie. Ozorne had her. The rage grew and a buzzing filled his ears. A mirror burst in her room. Alanna reached for Numair's hand and was shocked for her trouble. He shook his head apologetically as she rubbed her stung arm, but he was too angry to speak. He had never seen Alanna look afraid before. She looked afraid now. Some part of him wondered at it. _Alanna needn't be afraid of me._ But he understood when he caught his reflection in the next mirror he passed. His skin around his nostrils and mouth were white and instead of brown, his eyes were black and glittered with his magic. He tried to take two more meditating breaths and caused all the glass in the hall to explode. Masters Chioke', Templan, Silveni, and Azulono actually seemed afraid as well.

The guards and mages formed a square around the Tortallans, marching them to a waiting ferry. Alanna walked grim-faced behind the covey of clerks, eyes watching everywhere. Duke Gareth, Lord Martin, and Gareth the Younger kept their heads together, whispering urgently. Harailt gripped Numair's arms. He too was zapped once before Numair got control of himself. But once he did, Harailt's hands returned. He half trotted beside Numair saying, "Be smart about this Numair. Getting yourself killed won't help her." Numair just looked down at the much shorter man and glared.

On board their own ship, they found Lindhall Reed waiting for them. He had changed his mind about leaving with them, but had snuck on board to see how he could help. Without so much as a word, Duke Gareth, Lord Martin, Alanna, Lindhall and Numair gathered in a cramped shipboard cabin. Lindhall shielded it against eavesdroppers this time. Gareth and Martin sat on a bunk across from Numair. Lindhall looked very worried, but his presence seemed to sooth a little of the rage that was consuming Numair. Alanna was pacing the small space.

"We have to go after her," Alanna demanded.

"Impossible," Lord Martin said curtly. "Our duty is to return home and warn the king."

"She's one of _ours," _retorted Alanna. The Champion leaned against the wall, fisted hands thrust deep into her breeches pockets. Lines of worry seemed etched in her furrowed brow. "That letter's a forgery – it must be. He's keeping her somewhere, and using it as a pretext to end the talks and declare war."

Duke Gareth looked at her, eyes sad. "We cannot prove that, my child. Neither can we help Daine; we must warn the country. As it is, Tortall will stand alone against him. By announcing it before the foreign ambassadors, he made certain they believed his proof that Daine conspires against him. As far as our allies are concerned, _we _caused the talks to fail."

"You can warn Tortall, then, and the king," Numair said quietly. "I won't leave without her." He felt separated from himself now. As if he were two people, the one filled with rage and the one who ached with fear for Daine's safety.

"We never should have brought that child," snapped Lord Martin. "I knew it would be trouble!" A violent rumbling occurred as the ship's very timbers shook. Numair realized he was the cause and struggled to get control of his emotions. Standing, his eyes wide, Martin approached the door. "Let me pass," he ordered with a quavering voice. A hole appeared in the magic; he opened the door and left. Once he was gone, gray fire sealed the room tightly again.

Lindhall patted Numair's arm. "Arram, there is more at stake than any girl, even this one." His absentminded air was gone. "The information passed to you – contacts, new routes for the slave underground, conspirators' names – it _must _go north, _now, _before the borders are closed by war. We may have to get the prince out in a hurry if the emperor begins to suspect him, and the only way to do it safely is to have all prepared on your end."

Numair looked at his friend. This was not exactly the news he carried. Clearly Lindhall still didn't know who to trust. So he just shook his head. "I don't care. Someone else can take the information to the king."

Alanna whirled and slammed both fists into the wall. "I _hate_ not doing something!" she cried. _"I hate_ it! I want to go back there and –"

The lizard-bird leaped into the air flapping clumsily across the room to land on Alanna's shoulder. _Funny_, Numair thought, _I had not even notice that Bonedancer was here._

Bonedancer ran his beak through Alanna's hair, trying to comfort her. "Go away you old Bone," she whispered, but her heart wasn't in it. Before long, she was stroking the creature's beak.

"You cannot, my dear," Duke Gareth said, his voice filled with pity. "We are going to war. Your place is at home with the king and his armies."

Alanna's eyes brimmed with tears; she turned away from the men.

"Numair, if you choose to remain, I cannot stop you – you are too great a mage," the duke said. "Please think, then. The emperor is mad, but not stupid. He _knows_ you wouldn't leave Daine here." He paused, his eyes locked with Alanna's. When he looked back he said, "My concern is that he has planned for just that eventuality."

Numair and Lindhall exchanged looks. He, of course, felt that was exactly why he had to go. It might be the only thing that kept Daine alive and untortured. "I'm aware of the danger, Your Grace. I have taken precautions. They may be enough. Ozorne has trouble believing in his heart that anyone else has more of the Gift than he does, even when his mind knows there are more powerful mages. I can use that to fool him. As for the knowledge of the prince's conspiracy –"

"Give it to me," Alanna said briskly, "it's the least I can do." She handed Bonedancer to Lindhall and moved closer.

Numair looked at the duke, who sighed and nodded. Numair's respect had grown a great deal for this man. Getting up, Numair placed his fingers on Alanna's temples. Black fire sparkled where they touched. When the information was there, Alanna's eyes opened very wide.

"I will bring her back safe and whole. I swear it," he whispered to Alanna, who nodded.

"Try not to blow up the palace in the process. Keep your temper," she advised. "And Numair, you are quite scarey yourself, you know that?"

Numair smiled. But he decided he would not say goodbye. He would return with Daine in tow or he would die trying.


	17. Chapter 17 Searching

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns everything you recognize.**

**Chapter 17 – Searching**

Numair was winging over the palace. He couldn't keep the black hawk shape once he found an open window. People would be suspicious if a hawk was seen flying around inside a building. But he was hoping for a little luck, if not the intervention of the Badger, to find Daine.

Lindhall and he had split up before leaving the ship. It was necessary that they not be seen together. It was bad enough that everyone knew they were old friends. If he were to keep Lindhall safe while searching for Daine the two would have to avoid being seen together. Lindhall was to move the simulacrum to a storage room in the basement. He would also ask any slaves he had been working to free to help them search. Numair hoped to search as much of the palace as possible before the mages found him. If the time came, he would give up his double to face the emperor's wrath and then hope that Ozorne first tried to keep Daine under friendly terms rather than captive. It was a risk, but there was no help for it.

He spied an open window in the wing that he knew to house Kaddar's family. Seeing no one around, he landed. Inside he turned into himself and set an invisibility spell. He would need clothing and though Kaddar was much shorter, he still was probably the closest match Numair would find. He would have to "witch" them to fit properly.

Spying a chest of drawers in a bedroom, he opened it. It was full of women's clothing. This must be Kaddar's mother's room. He closed it quietly and set off to search the house. A woman was sitting doing needlework in the next room. He was amazed at how much her features resembled those of Ozorne. But while Numair had come to think of Ozorne as ugly, the woman was beautiful. Her soft amber eyes were framed by dark curly lashes. Her light sienna skin looked soft, as if she spent little time outside. Her mouth was curved slightly at the edges as if she contemplated something pleasant and he could see the hint of a dimple in her girlish cheek. He thought ruefully that she looked like someone to shriek for hours over a mouse. Gods help him if she thought that a ghost had entered her house -- or worse, a fugitive.

The next room was clearly Kaddar's. Many of the jewels that littered the dressing table were those he recognized. Books on animals and vegetation were strewn across a small ebony desk. He also saw a handkerchief on the foot of the prince's bed that he knew belonged to Daine. Numair had bought it for her at a festival they attended in Corus a year ago. He couldn't imagine why the prince had it and found himself suddenly not certain how much he trusted the boy. He grabbed a clean pair of breeches, a tunic, shoes and socks and used a bit of magic to size them. Then he renewed his invisibility charm, picked up the handkerchief, and left.

_It was probably innocent_, he thought as he quietly exited the wing of the palace. Daine was always losing her handkerchiefs. More often than not, he would pull out one to offer if it seemed needed because she would be uncertain where she left hers. It was one of those charming idiosyncrasies the girl possessed. Otherwise, she was very organized and responsible. But it was also possible that Kaddar fancied Daine. They were close in age and seemed to have fun together. He thought back to what Kaddar had said to him in the University, _"I had not realized that Daine was yours"_. He thought bitterly, _Just like a Carthaki to think a woman was piece of property to buy and sell. _Women are not possessions. _They are human beings with souls and minds, meant to love and cherish, but never to own._

Numair was amazed to realize that he wasn't lost. The palace had changed some in the years since he lived there. But as a youth he had covered a great deal of it while running around with Ozorne. Now, his feet led him down the path that he had escaped from so many years ago. He was going to the dungeons. It was where he most expected her to be. This entrance had been the least guarded so many years ago. He had hidden in corners or used his gift to mask his presence as he worked his way out of the place. There was no doubt in his mind that Ozorne would have changed it some. He would have figured out that Numair had escaped this way and would have fixed the problem. He would have to slow down and be very, very watchful.

Around the next corner he spied the trap before he triggered it. Calcitrite magic detectors were set into the wall to recognize things like invisibility spells. He used a special counter-spell he had only learned of last year. The gems sizzled and popped for a moment and then returned to their normal color. He smiled to himself and continued on.

This passage, which was once the worst guarded, now appeared to be the best. Six soldiers were stationed in front of the door to the dungeon area. They weren't looking for trouble, but it would not be easy to open that door without anyone noticing. He figured he had two choices, try to lure them all away, or somehow convince them to open the door for him. Using his magical sight, he noticed that not one had the Gift. Though he had sworn never to use it on another human being, now seemed the time to try a sublinotal. It was a major spell and would use a lot of his energy. He picked the laughing soldier who seemed most open to suggestion. He whispered the words to the spell and broadcast the thought, _There's a noise. Something is in there that isn't supposed to be._

It worked beautifully. The youngest in the group jumped as if reacting to a loud noise that the others couldn't hear. "D'ju hear that?" he asked. "Somethin' is in there what ought not be." The others looked at him suspiciously as he opened the door cautiously and crept in, sword leveled. Numair was right behind him. The cell block seemed empty. Wanting to investigate completely, Numair decided it was worth the risk. Black fire surrounded the guards and held them in place where they stood. It was the same spell he had used to stop Alanna from stepping on the mouse.

He looked into every cell, but she was not there. He wondered how many more magic canceling dungeons or cells the emperor possessed. He also wondered why there didn't seem to be a single prisoner. Perhaps Ozorne was exercising his temper on them.

And then he knew where Ozorne would be keeping her. She would be in that horrible room beneath Ozorne's suite which he called his laboratory – the same one where he watched the slave girl sucked dry of her Gift and then her life essence. It was going to be next to impossible to get there. He had given himself away by holding these guards. As soon as he let go the whole castle would be hunting him. If only he could make his gift appear another color – but that was impossible. He held them pinned as long as he could -- far past when he could see them behind him. But when he did let them go it was as if some explosion of activity took place. Whistles blew and drums warned. He had to go and fast.

Numair ran for the nearest exit. He was maintaining his invisibility spell, but running made sound. Mages seemed to come from every direction. They were looking for him using magical sight boosters. The adepts most likely wouldn't see him – his power was too great. But masters might just have the spells needed. And of all he knew he must watch out for, Chioke' and Ozorne were the biggest threats.

Down the winding walkway he flew, past the outer garden toward the courtyard. A blast of orange fire illuminated the area just in front of him but he had built up too much momentum to stop in time. Chioke' laughed, "Very powerful, huh. You seem like nothing to me."

Numair threw a black ball of fire which wound itself around Chioke's head, neck and chest and pinned him to the wall behind. Black fire rained onto the other mages in an acidic spray, leaving them howling in pain. He ran again. There was no point in expending the energy for the invisibility at this time. He could only use a basic shield spell and run.

He leapt a wall and headed for the city center and Mithros temple. The empty space where the statue of Zernou used to stand was suddenly swarming with soldiers and mages. Slipping behind one post of Thak's gate he decided it was time for drastic measures. He shifted to hawk form and set an invisibility spell simultaneously. It was a powerful drain, but it worked and saved his life. He flew to the university and in the window of Lindhall Reed's office. Too tired to shift from bird form, he shimmered back into sight and collapsed at Lindhall's feet.


	18. Chapter 18 Execution

**Disclaimer – The characters belongs to Tamora Pierce, the violence is my own twisted creation.**

**Warning: This chapter is extremely violent. If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip.**

**Chapter 18 – Execution**

When Numair awoke he knew immediately that something was wrong. A very large, out-of-focus Lindhall was crouched before him whispering, "I'm sorry to wake you, but the emperor's guard is coming. It is just as well that you couldn't shift back, because I think you are safer this way. I have hidden you in the aviary, but anyone who knows anything about birds will recognize that you are too big to belong. I've brought you an invisibility charm. Save your magic. We will likely need it."

This explained pretty much everything. Lindhall seemed large because Numair, who was used to towering over everyone, was still small – an oversized hawk, but much smaller than he was used to. Hawk's eyes, while very sharp for finding prey on the ground while they flew, were not made for close up examination. He felt Lindhall attach the cat's eye agate to his leg.

Lindhall whispered, "I believe they will search here first. Rest up while you can. When they find your simulacrum we may need you to make the fight look convincing."

Numair tilted his head and hopped forward. "Oh, yeah," Lindhall said, "I moved the other Numair to a storage room next to Chioke's workroom. The emperor won't believe Chioke' invited you. This keeps any innocent bystanders from being punished for helping you hide."

Numair, the hawk, nodded. Lindhall held out a strip of bacon, which Numair took with his beak gratefully. Then Lindhall stood up with a bowl of bird seed in one arm to feed the other occupants of the aviary. Seconds later the emperor's guard pounded on his spelled office door.

"Let them in, dolt," he shouted to his door, and walked toward it with the bird seed bowl still cradled in one elbow. "Good evening, how can I help you?"

The lead guard marched in authoritatively and stated, "His Imperial Highness has commanded us to search the university for the fugitive Salmalin." Seven soldiers followed along with four mages.

"Of course, of course, my boy. There's no need to press. I am a loyal subject of Carthak. I haven't seen Salmalin since the Tortallans sailed, but I do know he is rather sneaky and very powerful. If he is here, you'll find him. I am confident.

Numair heard the whole thing. He began to see how Lindhall had managed to fool the emperor all of this time. While he was scattered with his friends, he was focused where it counted. By allowing them in to his office in such a gracious way, Lindhall guaranteed they wouldn't upend things. And they were less likely to stumble across any hidden secrets when they were being polite.

The guard swiftly searched the rooms without disturbing the various animals and books. Numair was not found and the guard were convinced of Lindhall's patriotism. They apologized and left.

Once they were gone Lindhall asked quietly, "Are you up to following?" In answer, Numair flew after them, brushing Lindhall with one wing as he left.

The guard systematically searched floor after floor of the university. Chioke's offices were put off until last since he was a loyal servant of the emperor. But, they felt they couldn't ignore it when they had searched everywhere else.

Inside, the other Numair was crouched in a storage area, shielded by a gem spell. The mages spotted it. Whistles blew and guards closed in, shadowed by the unseen invisible hawk. The simulacrum stood and held its hands open. The invisible hawk bounced the black fire across its palms to make a concussive explosion. One guard was felled by the blast and one mage was severely injured. Chioke' appeared from somewhere down the hall and with the help of his Gift, seven hematite stones and four black opals surrounded the simulacrum. This was more than enough to trap any mage. The guard removed the simulacrum to the dungeon.

Numair flew back to the Lindhall. When the last of the Guard were gone from the university, he turned back into himself. He told Lindhall what had happened and how the guard had captured the simulacrum.

"They have been fooled," Lindhall said, "But I don't think it is safe for you to continue to hunt right now. You will need to lay low. My Banjiku friends will look for Daine. And we could let Kaddar in on our secret."

"No," Numair replied. "There are many reasons not to tell Kaddar. I know you trust him, and you know I trust you, but there are things about Kaddar I'm not sure about yet."

"Kaddar is…"

"I know what you're going to say," interrupted Numair, "but you know as well as I do that trust is not given that easily. Besides, it isn't safe for him. His uncle's favor is shaky at best. His friendliness toward my countrymen probably did not go unnoticed. He may already be in danger and it makes no sense to give him information that could further put him at risk. It is bad enough that I have endangered you and Daine. There must be no more innocent blood on my hands."

"Do you think she may be dead?"

"No, she is not dead. If she had died every animal in this Kingdom would have mourned her. And I cannot see her held prisoner while conscious without sending the animals into hysterics. Somewhere she is unconscious. I have a good idea where too, but it won't be safe to send the Banjiku there. Ozorne will have spelled the area. It may take a powerful mage to break through. If I'm wrong, and you think they can find her, then maybe the are the best choice. But if you ask this of them, please ask them to be careful and not take unnecessary risks. I won't lie to you. I am concerned about what will happen when Daine wakes up. If she goes after Ozorne…."

Lindhall gripped Numair's shoulder. "We will find her and we will take her back to Tortall in one piece. But for now, you need to eat a little more and rest a lot more. We need your power at full strength."

The next time Numair awoke it was a three hours past dawn. Lindhall was talking in a low voice to a Banjiku slave. Numair realized that he was once again invisibly cloaked with an agate tied to his wrist. His gift seemed to be mostly replenished. He waited until the slave left and then removed and pocketed the charm. "What news, Lindhall?"

"I am afraid you are to be publicly executed in three hours. Ozorne is taking no chances."

"That was to be expected. I admit I didn't think he would rush it this much, but he probably doesn't want to risk a second escape."

"I suppose. You realize that everyone will believe you dead except myself, right? Kaddar, Varice, the slaves –you did tell Daine about your simulacrum, right?"

"Yes, of course I…" But Numair stopped mid-sentence. He wasn't sure if they had talked about it. She knew he had used a Simulacrum before and that he was able to do things that Ozorne wasn't. Daine was his closest friend. He had to have told her. He just couldn't remember the actual conversation. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted.

Numair kept thinking back to that conversation as the two headed for the city center two and a half hours later. He did not know what Daine would do if she woke up and heard about the execution. He knew that her mother's death had sent her into a vengeful rage that nearly cost her identity and humanity. But Numair was merely her teacher, and she had the shield now, which she did not have before. Moreover, the Badger was watching out for her now.

He wished so much that he could call on the Badger to lead him to her. But he knew that the Badger wouldn't answer. The events set in motion by the gods could not be stopped. Numair could only be there to pick up the pieces when it was over.

In the meantime, he had to watch his own execution. He was sure the sensations would be the most curious of his life. He had to be there to make it look real. He wasn't sure what tortures the emperor had in mind, and while the simulacrum was very, very good, it held only limited gift. If the opportunity presented itself, the real Numair would try to escape and would certainly put up a fight. The simulacrum would have to do the same.

When the simulacrum was brought forward and tied to Thak's gate, Numair was perched above the opposite stone gate post, disguised as a hawk and charmed to be invisible. This time he would not be as drained because the stone charm didn't require continued gift to maintain the illusion. His view allowed him to look at most of the crowd, as well as his seeing most of his simulacrum. There was also no chance anyone would trip over him. Lindhall, Kaddar and Varice were seated within view of the Emperor. Behind them sat the rest of the university personnel. This was Ozorne's requirement. He demanded they show their loyalty as witnesses.

The other Numair was not just bound with ropes. He was surrounded again by seven hematite stones and four black opals. No mage, no matter how powerful would be able to use magic in that circle and the real Numair would have to be careful to stay out of the circle of influence.

When the midday chimes rang, the huge crowd assembled fell silent. Charges of treason were read to the crowd and archers approached. Numair was surprised. It seemed very unoriginal for Ozorne to execute by arrow. These would be precision archers, able to hit their mark without question.

But when the first arrow was loosed, it stabbed through the fake mage's right hand. With direction from the real Numair, the imposter cried in surprise and then his face set in a look of pained defiance. Ozorne stood and walked closer. He glowered at Numair. "Draper," he said, eyes amused, "You have thought much of yourself. You have broken the laws of our empire." He gestured broadly. "You have killed members of our guard without regret." He pointed to several young soldiers in crisp uniforms lined up to the right side. "And you have sought to destroy us. Now, you face your own destruction. That arrow will strip you of your power."

The emperor leaned down and picked up one of the hematite stones. "The powder that tipped that arrow was discovered by _you_ I believe, while you attended the university several years ago – soatrine. As you know it cancels the Gift. It is quite rare and very expensive. One small bit in the blood stream is probably sufficient, but you aren't just any mage are you?" Another arrow was loosed. It struck the other Numair in the right forearm. Again the mage cried in pain but stood as straight as possible in defiance. "So we must make certain that no trace of gift is left." Ozorne leaned down and picked up a second hematite stone.

The third arrow hit the simulacrum's left hand. Again Ozorne leaned down and picked up a hematite stone. He carried these to his three witnesses, all of whom took them with shaky hands. And when the forth arrow struck, the simulacrum's cry of pain was louder and his resolve weaker. Ozorne's diatribe continued, "We are not a weak empire. Our people are loyal and brave. They will not stand for treason."

Ozorne motioned Kaddar forward and ordered him to throw the small stone at the prisoner. The stone would hardly hurt as is, but Kaddar had studied enough magic and had lived under the dictatorship of Ozone long enough to know what would happen when it struck. He knew it had been spelled by the emperor. The boy was pale and looked nauseated. He closed his eyes for a long moment and mouthed "forgive me" to the fake Numair. Then he threw the stone. The fake Numair screamed when the stone hit him and flashed. Flames shot from the impact and died after thirty seconds. It was a terrible torture. It would be better to burn someone alive and have it be over, then to burn through their organs in small bursts and leave them to endure it over and over.

The real Numair felt sympathy for the three witnesses. It was bad enough to be ordered to watch. It was ten times worse to be forced to participate. He watched with sympathy as the prince walked back to the line, trembling, and turned to face the rest of the execution.

Varice was already in tears. But they turned to sobs when she was ordered to take her turn. She weakly threw the stone, and it wouldn't have hit the mage at all if not pushed there by a flash of green light from the emperor. It struck the simulacrum in the groin and the impact ripped through the mage in a shuddering blast. The scream echoed in the square. A low murmuring spread through the crowd and many of the women turned and ran in horror. Varice fainted outright and was carried away by one of the guards.

Lindhall was brought forward. This man knew this wasn't really Numair, but clearly the situation felt real and he too was pale and weeping. He threw the stone at the simulacrum's neck, clearly intending to put the man out of his misery. But again, the emperor interfered and stone struck his left hip. The simulacrum sagged in his restraints as blood gushed from open wounds and vomit hung in a line from his mouth.

"Now you feel the folly of your ways," the emperor taunted. "Have you anything to say before I send you to your death?"

The simulacrum merely hung there. There was a shot of green from the emperor mage's hand and fire consumed the man attached to the stone gate post in front of him. A sickening scream of death followed and the body was reduced to a small pile of ashes.

"Thus ends the traitor Numair Salmalin, born Arram Draper," the emperor hissed. With a skip in his step he walked toward the palace.


	19. Chapter 19 The Laboratory

**Disclaimer: All characters and the story outline belong to Tamora Pierce. The rest is my stuff and nonesence.**

**Chapter 19 – The laboratory**

When they got back to the university, Numair changed back into himself and dressed. Lindhall had been silent since the execution and sat in his chair now, petting Bonedancer's beak and lost in his thoughts. In a soft, compassionate voice, Numair asked, "Are you alright, Lindhall?"

Lindhall merely nodded, but there was a look of sadness in his eyes.

"Are you thinking about Kaddar and Varice?"

Lindhall spoke at last. "Yes. It was as much torture for them as it was for your simulacrum."

"But there is more. What is it?"

"He has no humanity left. I had always hoped that he would somehow see the error of his ways. He has been unable to drain Gift from slaves for years. I guess part of me believed that the boy we both once liked would resurface and repent his sins to the Gods. But there was not a bit of regret in that man we saw today. No regret. No mercy. No humanity. I have started to believe he would sacrifice all of mankind for power. I had thought there was a glimmer of humanity in his love for various creatures and especially birds. But today I believe that is about power as well. He likes that he can control them. Nothing more. Arra—Numair, I looked upon true evil today and I don't think I will ever be the same."

Numair could do nothing more than nod. It was the same feeling he had suffered so many years ago when the slave girl was sucked dry.

"I didn't watch what he did to that girl all those years ago," Lindhall continued. "You told me and I never doubted – I mean I saw your face. But I never saw his. Despite everything I was told he did and everything I've seen since, despite everything I've done to keep it from happening again, I always believed that he might change. I was a fool all of these years and I didn't know it. But you did, didn't you? You knew the level of his evil. That was why you sent the simulacrum. I was such a fool. I thought you would go home and never use it."

Numair gripped the man's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. "Believe me, I had not completely given up hope."

"I'm frightened, Numair. I'm frightened of what other evil things he may have done for power and frightened that he will get out of this alive. I prayed for his demise." Lindhall swallowed hard. "I have always been a kind of pacifist. I helped the underground, but I avoided wars in the strictest sense."

"There is nothing pacifistic about what you have done for the slave underground. Lindhall. We all stick to our strengths. When I joined the battle mages in Tortall, Jonathan of Conte insisted on my learning to use a sword and dagger as well. I can use them, thanks to some hard lessons by a very talented teacher. But I'm not great. When the fighting starts, they don't stick a sword in my hand. I blast things, punch through opponents' magic, or hold off dampening fields. I go where my strengths are. Your strengths have been in keeping this monster from growing stronger. In ten years you have not faltered. If you think that is nothing … Lindhall, it is probably the only reason that he does not dominate the world. You told me that you are proud of me. But I don't feel that I even begin to measure up to you. The Gods will hold a special place of honor for you when you are gone. Every mortal could wish for as much. I only hope I can live up to half of what you have done."

The two men stared at one another for a moment. A single tear trickled down Lindhall's face. He choked out the words, "Thank you, son," before he turned and walked into the aviary.

Numair spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening trying every scrying spell he had ever heard of. A small smile played on Lindhall's face when he put a plate of food before Numair. He said, "You aren't giving up, are you?"

"Not until my last breath," Numair answered with a chuckle.

Lindhall didn't look amused. "You know, I watched you die today. Even knowing it was your image and not you, I could barely cope. Try not to get yourself killed."

Numair looked stern. "You need to understand, Lindhall, I cannot let anything happen to her. If my life is forfeit for her safety, so be it. I have accepted that and you need to as well. I'm sorry for what you suffered today, but I cannot sit by while my student -- my friend -- is tortured into madness or killed. That would be against the core of my being."

"Of course," Lindhall said, looking at the floor. "Then I suppose you better see this." He placed a very large book in front of Numair. It looked ancient and was written in Old Thak. "I have spent months trying to translate it. You know I'm slow with that stuff. It is full of stealth spells. They require a significant amount of gift and they are quite dangerous. I don't know if you will find what you need in there or be able to figure out how to use it in time. But I think Daine is clearly somewhere where you cannot find her with any method of scrying. This seems the next choice."

The yellowed pages were fragile, but with shaking hands, Numair began to examine it. "The Power Codex," he read the title with whispered awe. He flipped it open to somewhere in the center – a random choice. But his hand must have been guided by the Gods, for this was just what he was looking for. It would allow him to walk through walls. It was going to require significant gift and he could see it would be tough to maintain for any length of time, assuming he could master it.

He spent the night and a few hours into the morning deciphering and practicing the spell. Just after dawn he rushed to Lindhall's pallate and shouted, "Lindhall, I've got it!" Lindhall had been sleeping, but he woke immediately with wide eyes.

"Watch!" Numair said with eyes glittering. After a few well-spoken Old Thak words, Numair's gift enveloped him. He walked through the wall to the other room and back again.

"Mithos!" Lindhall whispered. "You learned this in one night?" His eyes were wide.

"Well, yes. But it did take _all_ night." Numair tried not to look too proud of himself.

"But do you realize… you have always been brilliant but – Gods, that's just…" he never really finished, just covered his mouth with his hand and looked dumbstruck.

"I am exhausted though. I will need a couple hours rest before I go. But then I can look for Daine. I should be able to use the spelled gem for invisibility and the Power Codex spell."

"Rest then. I will wake you in two hours. Wait, can you teach me the spell? I will go with you if it's…" He stopped as Numair looked at the floor. "You don't know how to tell me that my Gift is not great enough. It is alright, my boy. Rest." He left the room.

Numair layed down for a meditative rest. The last thing he thought before he drifted off to sleep was that he needed to learn humility from Lindhall.

But it wasn't quite two hours later when Numair awoke, and it wasn't Lindhall who had brought him from his slumber. Every animal in the Kingdom was going crazy. Lindhall's lizards were snapping, the birds pounded the glass of the aviary. Numair scrambled up and out into the main room. Lindhall's hand was on the door to his aviary. He clearly intended to try to calm his pets.

"No!" Numair shouted. "It's Daine. She's frightened. Your birds will likely attack you. You need to avoid all your animals until they calm. And I have to go now. If Ozorne realizes she's awake..." He never finished the sentence. Placing his agate in his mouth, he shifted to hawk form and flew from the building.

Outside, the world was chaos. He could hear Daine faintly when he was in animal form. He heard her mind cry, "I want out." Birds of all types were pelting the palace. Numair knew he would blend well with the other thousands of birds peppering the sky. He could hear dogs howl and saw every palace animal forcing against doors to get in.

He landed on an open window, followed by hundreds of other assorted birds. But the chaos had erupted into battle between the people and what Daine called "two-leggers". Then he heard Daine's mind-speak again. "Stop! No don't! Stop! They'll hurt you! They'll kill you." Her panic was clearly broadcast with the words. He was scared for her. And then her voice was silent. She had cut herself off in effort to stop the animals from being killed.

Numair found that the silence made him ache. He was not a real animal. Perhaps some of the others could still find her. But to him it was as if she had died. He shifted to human and used the agate spell to turn invisible. He had to find her and now.

It was slow going. He had to avoid walking into humans and making noises. Though the chaos of the animal attacks had ended, humans seemed to be running everywhere, trying to figure out what had happened. It took him nearly one and a half hours to reach the emperor's section, which was now the center of the most heavily protected wing. It took him even longer to find the tunnel entrance. By then all the humans seemed to have disappeared from view. His fear and emptiness had grown so much that he was sure he would find her dead. When at last he found the area where the laboratory was, he could hardly contain his fear. The entrances were as heavily spelled as he suspected. The walls were designed to block magic without a powerful booster. Of course, Numair knew what that booster was. He thought with hatred about the black opal necklace that Ozorne wore. He grabbed his own opal pendant – his jewels were spelled to stay with him during shifts. Using the "Power Codex" spell he walked through the wall of the laboratory.

Inside the laboratory was a smaller cell. The walls were spelled to allow the emperor to observe the prisoner without being seen. Its walls blocked magic entirely. A prisoner with the Gift would be completely helpless inside it. He shuddered involuntarily. A thick pad covered in blankets lay on the floor. Three collapsed water skins lay beside it along with a dirty, discarded napkin. Filthy, wrinkled clothing lay in a heap in the corner. He knew without a second glance that they were Daine's. But Daine was not here. He whispered her name in case she was hiding as a mouse, but there was no point. She was gone and he could not know where.


	20. Chapter 20 The Wrecking Crew

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, the outer plot line, or anything worth money. That happy claim goes to Tamora Pierce**

**Chapter 20 – The Wrecking Crew**

Numair did not remember how he got back to the university. He was exhausted and disheartened. He had searched for her until he had nearly run head-long into Ozorne. Luckily he was invisible and Ozorne was preoccupied. He ultimately found his way back to Lindhall but was unable to speak at all.

His mind reviewed the dreams and pictures from the past. He could remember tiny things he had forgotten. He felt again like he had the night Daine died and was brought back by the Badger. But this time there would be no reprieve. It was strange that Gods could sometimes undo death, but not repair a ruined mind. And Numair had never felt so useless in all his life.

He spent hours huddled in that corner. He may have dozed at some point but he wasn't sure. Inexplicably, Lindhall knew not to bother him. It was near dusk now. The light had become an odd golden that seemed extra bright instead of the usual gloaming. Numair was remembering waking to soft chuckles between Onua and Alanna, two years ago after the attack on Pirate's Swoop. He had fallen asleep when the battle was done. Exhausted from holding off dampeners for hours, he had simply drifted away right where he was. During the cleanup, Onua and Alanna had come to help the injured. When Numair came to himself, he felt something warm snuggled against him, and looked up to see the hindquarters of a mare right in front of him. As he groggily asked what was happening, Onua and Alanna's chuckles became full on roars of laughter with intermittent bursts of incoherent speech. He finally figured out they were trying to say that "they" looked sweet that way. Daine had curled up against him and had also fallen asleep. Cloud, Daine's mare, had stood guard like a protective sentry. How ironic it was to him that Cloud had protected the girl so effectively for years while he, a powerful mage, had managed to lose her in a matter of days.

And there was that feeling again. It was as if an astounding epiphany waited on the edge of his consciousness and if he just turned the right direction, he would see it. But his ponderings were again interrupted, this time by the sound of multiple pairs of feet entering the university.

Without discussion, Numair shimmered out of site. He stood in the corner next to Lindhall's desk and that was where he was when Kaddar entered the office. Apparently the door had been spelled to admit him. "Professor," Kaddar shouted, "I think the sky is about to fall."

"What?" Lindhall asked, alarmed.

"Daine had not run away. She was kidnapped. But now she's out and she's seeking revenge for Master Numair's death. She told me to take everyone I cared about out of the palace. She was frightening."

Without thinking, Numair revealed himself. He grabbed Kaddar's shoulders and pleaded, "Please, you've seen Daine? Where? Can you take me to her?" It was only then that he realized the fear on Kaddar's face. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

Lindhall separated the two and scolded, "That's hardly the most tactful way to reveal yourself.

"I s-s-saw you d-d-die. I – I w-w-was part of your ex-execution," Kaddar stuttered. His deep mahogany skin was now a pasty sort of gray.

"Oh Gods! I'm sorry Kaddar. As you can see I'm quite alive and unharmed."

"But I…"

"It was a simulacrum and I was there but cloaked. I saw the whole thing," his voice softened as he continued, "You tried to say 'forgive me'. It was not your fault. You have earned my respect."

Kaddar looked for a minute like he might like hit Numair. Numair took a step back.

"I have thought for twenty four hours that I contributed to your death," the boy yelled. Then his hand flew to slap his own forehead, "And I told Daine you were dead. She was – there's no other word for it, she was scarey."

Numair and Lindhall simultaneously looked alarmed.

"And I don't know where she will be now," Kaddar said. "It was hours ago. I had to get my friends and family out."

Numair said, "Tell me everything. Perhaps we can figure out where to find her."

Settling into a chair by the door, Kaddar began, "A Banjiku slave found me and took me to a secret room that is known only to the Banjiku slaves. Daine, a cheetah, and her marmoset were there. She looked thin and pale and quite angry. She told me she had been kidnapped by Ozorne. He apparently used dreamrose on her and she asked me for information on it. So I told her it produces deep sleep and true dreams. I urged her to leave Carthak, but she said she had dreamed that you, Numair, were still in Carthak looking for her and that she didn't want to leave without you. Numair covered his mouth withhis hands looking intently at Kaddar.

"I had to tell her the truth as I knew it. I told her you were executed yesterday and that I had seen the whole thing. I admit that I was too ashamed to tell her of my part in the execution." He looked at the floor. "She went white and it was – it was as if she were frozen. I thought for a moment she had entered some kind of catatonic state. I shook her and called her name, but she just pushed me away. She said in this cold, calculating voice that she was thinking." Kaddar shivered involuntarily.

Fear swept through Numair for the second time today. _Was it already too late?_ "Please continue," he said in a hoarse voice that did not sound like his own.

"She had that frozen look again and a visible rage washed over her. The very air became electrified. The cheetah's fur stood on end and it backed away in fear, but all of us could feel it. She asked what time of day it was and she asked where the emperor was and when he would return. So I told her that Ozorne had officials to meet with after sunset. Then she asked if I had anyone I cared about in the palace. I told her I did. So she told me to have them out by sunset. She told the slave, Tano, that he needed to get word to the slaves and get them and the emperor's pets out by sunset too. She sent us on our way. I wanted to argue, but frankly she was too frightening. When I got back up to the main level, the palace animals had begun to assemble. She's bent on vengeance and I pity anyone stupid enough to stand in her way."

Looking out the window, Numair realized that every free outdoor creature was working to keep the innocent from the castle. "Then pity me. I must find her – now!" Numair stated with urgency. And that was when they heard the first major crash.

When Numair headed back to the palace he realized that Lindhall and Kaddar had followed. The three men were rushing against a throng of people trying to escape. The reason soon became apparent. Huge snake necked dinosaur skeletons were destroying the great hall. Horn-faced lizards had pushed a hole through the wall and the chaos inside was revealed for all to see.

"Goddess protect us!" Lindhall and Kaddar whispered as one. Numair was speechless. Numair ignored the instinct to run away and headed for the center of the chaos. His only thought was to get to Daine and help her before she lost her sanity. The others regretfully followed.

It was difficult to avoid the large skeletal feet of the reanimated behemoths as they searched through the destruction of the great hall. Twice Numair's quick reactions saved the others as he magically lifted them out of the path of danger. He did not attempt to interfere with the beasts for fear injuring them might hurt Daine. And he stopped Lindhall from sending fire at one monster for just that reason. Because they weren't attacking, the skeletons mostly ignored them. Numair wondered if that had been Daine's instructions.

Tripping through the rubble of columns and piles of broken pottery and decorations, they followed the leader of this particular wrecking crew. It soon became apparent that Daine had split her forces and she was not present. It was amazing how completely the monsters destroyed everything in their path. No portraits, vases or candelabras escaped their demolition.

Despite his recent visits to the hall of bones, Numair had never realized how many skeletons it held. Perhaps the number seemed greater when the huge creatures were moving through a building, tearing up everything in their wake.

From somewhere far away screams issued. He saw smoke billow through windows and heard crash after thunderous crash. It was hard to tell which were impact tremors from huge feet and which were impact tremors from mutilated foundation.

The three men ran down corridors calling for Daine and ducking the tumbling bricks, plaster, and columns. They saw all varieties of skeletal dinosaurs in their awe inspiring state of reanimation. The creatures followed a path of destruction known only to them. Fire began to spread throughout the palace and at last the three men were forced outside. They would have to find another way in. As they circled the building, Numair heard Lindhall shout, "Stormwing!" When he looked up, Numair realized it was Rikash and that Zek was on his shoulder.

The stormwing and Numair stared at each other. Again Numair saw the kind of expression one would wear if they had just seen a ghost. "Mage!" Rikash shouted. "I watched you die." The stormwing landed in front of him hard and looked almost joyful at the sight before him.

"I'm rather hard to kill." Numair stated cautiously.

"Someday you'll have to tell me how you managed it." Rikash was looking at him appraisingly. "In the meantime, there is a young lady that will be very, very happy to see you alive."

All pretense dropped, Numair exclaimed, "You've seen Daine."

The stormwing smiled. "Yes, Storkman, I have seen your girl."

"Storkman?"

The stormwing laughed heartily. "Did you not know the nickname her animal friends call you?"

"No," Numair answered and brushed the thought aside for later reflection. "Where is she? How long ago did you leave her?"

"I'm sure she isn't where I left her. It has been about fifteen minutes. I had to duck some angry monsters and some angrier mages. But when I last saw her she was planning to go after Ozorne himself. She was shifting into hyena form."

"Gods no!" Numair shouted alarmed. He had gone extremely pale and felt the air leave his lungs. Turning to Kaddar and Lindhall he said, "I have no time to explain it all, but the Badger God sent me a warning. If she kills him this way, she will lose her mind. It is essential that we find her before it is too late."


	21. Chapter 21 The Fall of the Emperor

**Disclaimer: You know the drill – Tamora Pierce owns it.**

**Chapter 21 – The Fall of the Emperor**

"Mithros, what am I thinking?" Numair shouted. "Zek. Where is she?"

Both Lindhall and Kaddar looked at Numair as if he had completely lost his mind. Rikash just looked intrigued. But Zek pointed and Numair wasted no time in mentally running down the list of things he knew to be in that direction.

"Is that the menagerie you're pointing to?" he asked the Marmoset. Zek nodded emphatically. That was all it took to send Numair racing toward the Menagerie.

The three men and one stormwing took the best path to the menagerie. They had to skirt the west wing as it was now ablaze. Numair ran through where the main doors used to be. The outer wall was gone and the entry was now a gaping, jagged hole. Every cage seemed to be empty. Rikash hovered just above. Kaddar came running in after, with Lindhall bringing up the rear. Numair scanned the rooms and didn't see her. There was a choice of directions, but Numair was not leaving it up to fate. "Zek, which way?" The marmoset pointed to where the immortals were housed.

Soon, Numair could hear the growls and yips of hyenas. Internally, he was praying all the way that he would make it in time. When he turned the corner he saw them. The hyenas surrounded the emperor, teeth barred. He recognized immediately the one that was Daine from the copper glow she admitted. She seemed to be preparing to strike.

"No!" Numair shouted and sent his gift to build a wall between them. He realized that Lindhall too had sent magic. The mix appeared like silver sparkling fire to envelope the emperor. The hyena that was Daine snarled and threw herself against the sparkling barrier, then yipped at the shock she received.

"You'll have to choose, Uncle," Kaddar said, stepping to the forefront. "Abdication and imprisonment – or the hyenas. You must give in. Your gift is almost used up. We can see you're taking it from your own life force now." This was true. It was clear that the emperor was spent, although Numair thought to himself that he would steal the hyenas' kill if it came to that. He would not risk Daine further.

Ozorne's fire had evaporated. He swayed, and his skin paled further under his streaked facial paint. "Abdi -- ? Never!" he growled rather than spoke. His voice was nearly gone with the strain.

"Then it must be the hyenas, Uncle, just as the Graveyard Hag promised."

"Give him to the animals!" cried the female Stormwing, Barzha. "They have worked hard for his flesh – let them have it! Let them feast so _we_ can sup on his fear!"

If the desired effect was to further frighten Ozorne, it worked. He stared at the female immortal, fear oozing from his very pores. The hyenas howled in triumph – a sound so much like laughter that it sent a chill down Numair's spine. He realized that the hyena which was Daine was gnashing her teeth with particular relish. He now knew he would have to be cautious about everything said and done. She was too close to the edge for him to step forward and reveal himself.

"Promises, is it?" Ozorne said, his dull eyes brightening feverishly. "Well I have a promise in reserve!" He grabbed the hair on the back of his head, fumbling among its strands. Numair saw Rikash move to perch atop the cage of his queen, his eyes gleaming in triumph. He drew Daine's attention from Ozorne – a fact Numair was grateful for.

"See!" Ozorne cried. Numair realized he held a metal feather like that of a stormwing. He had pulled it from a braided strand of hair. "I have _this _promise!"

The hyena that was Daine threw herself at the barrier around Ozorne in snarling fury as he drove the feather through his arm.

Something exploded in a flash of brilliant light. Numair saw Daine fall through a vanishing barrier, slamming into a shard of metal. He wanted to race to her, but knew it would be the wrong choice now. When she was safely back on her four feet again, Numair pulled his attention away and realized that Ozorne was now a stormwing. Steel feathers and pristine talons gleamed in the soft light of the torch globes. He had a broad scar on his chest that had been a bleeding gash.

Chimes filled the air. One after another of the cages disappeared, releasing the inhabitants. The griffins and hurroks wasted no time in taking flight. Combined magic from Numair and Lindhall wrapped around the killer unicorns, spidrens and killer centaurs, holding them in place. Numair provided an extra protection to hold them in a unique weaving of magic he had learned from Alanna. The effect made the combined Gifts look smoky grey and murky. Peaceful centaurs fled. Coldfangs looked around but didn't threaten anyone which was good since they are unaffected by magic.

The dragonlet, Kitten was in a cell at the far end. She sat up and cheeped inquiringly. Numair saw Zek climb onto her back.

Barzha and Hebakh stretched their wings ominously. "Humans, stay out of this," the queen hissed. "Now he is in _our _form; he must answer Stormwing justice!"

Ozorne stared in dismay. "No! I am the Emperor Mage, lord of Carthak."

"No immortal may hold a mortal throne," Hebakh chortled, rocking to and fro. "Wake up _Emperor Mage!_ Do you understand _now_ the trap that was laid for you?"

"No immortal may rule over humans or use human magic." Rikash had drifted gently to earth, wings outstretched, when the Stormwing cage vanished under him. Now he stood behind his queen and her consort and glared at Ozorne with sadistic glee. "Go ahead – try it."

Ozorne croaked a barely audible word which was followed by a sonic boom. The force sent him end over end as if he had been blown by a powerful wind. He smashed into the wall at the far end of the menagerie and lay stunned.

"You forgot our earliest lessons, Ozorne," Numair taunted. "Once you take immortal shape, you can never change back." He noticed that Daine did not turn to look at him. His heart leapt into his throat as he feared the worst. She had not recognized his voice.

"We are free!" cried Barzha in triumph. "First I take payment from that motherless worm Jokhun and then I will tend to _you, _Ozorne!" She took to the air, Hebakh behind her.

Ozorne screamed and struggled to stand up on his awkward new claws. "I have magic! I – I have Stormwing magic!"

"Of course you do, sweetheart," Rikash taunted. "Do you know how to use it?" With that Barzha sent a scarlet bolt of lightning edged with gold which blew a hole in front of Ozorne. He stood there for a moment, irresolute, working hard to speak. Sweat rolled off of him and fear clung to him like a cloak.

"You'll get the hang of it in a few days or so," Rikash told him with false sympathy. "If you live that long, of course. There is a reason the former King Jokhun didn't want to fight Barzha Razorwing on her terms." Rikash could not have looked more delighted and Numair found it hard not to taunt as well.

A second bolt of lightening struck the flagstones behind Ozorne, spraying him with sharp fragments. They peppered his face leaving many small wounds. Ozorne cursed blackly, then leaped, pumping his wings clumsily. He dropped, rose again and flew awkwardly into the night.

Rikash sighed. "I must go after him. I wouldn't like him to lose interest, not after it took so much work to get him into the proper claws. Barzha will want him eventually, after all." He looked at the hyenas. "Is one of you Daine?"

Daine trotted forward as Rikash waddled to her. "If it counts for anything – though I'm not sure that it does – you have my gratitude. And things aren't as bad as you think. You might look around." Numair cringed inside. That was not how he wanted to tell her that he was alright. He heard Rikash's voice as it grew further and further away calling, "Ozorne, my precious, where are you?"

Numair saw Daine start to look around. When her eyes fell on him, she instantly returned to her human state and sat down hard, trying to hide her naked body. And then he heard her whisper as if horrified, "No. Gods this is too terrible. Don't do this to me."

The hyenas shifted to form a circle of furry bodies, concealing her as Numair walked cautiously toward her. Softly he said, "I'm real, sweetling. It truly is me."

"Kaddar and Varice saw them kill you. You're a – a ghost, or a – puppet. A simu-thing."

Numair had to convince her. He lifted a hand sending his Gift around it in a black, sparkling ball of fire. "Ozorne couldn't attach magic to a simulacrum, remember?" He let the fire die and watched her anxiously.

Daine swallowed. "Very well, then – you're one of _Numair's_ simal –"

"Simulacra," he corrected automatically." That was his Magelet. She never could say that word. Quickly he tried to think of more proof to provide her. "Magelet, remember how we met? I was a shape-shifted hawk. You nursed me until Alanna helped me regain my true form. Last year, in the courtyard of Dunlath castle, I changed Tristan Staghorn into an apple tree with a word of power." He realized that he was leaving her vulnerable. He pulled off his cloak and tossed it with a shot of his Gift. It settled onto Daine, covering her.

She stood, shakily, wrapping the cloth around her. She looked as if she wanted very much to believe him. She started to reach for him, but then pulled away, as if his touch might burn. "Kitten?" she cried. "Is it really him?"

The dragon chortled happily and nodded.

Numair made a mental note to buy Kitten something extravagant and intriguing. He held out a hand to Daine, waiting to see if she was ready to accept him as alive. She looked frightened, but reached again and placed her hand in his. He couldn't help himself. He pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the floor, and embraced her as tightly as he could. He heard her sobbing into his chest and nearly cried himself out of sheer joy.

Numair nuzzled her hair, murmuring, "It's alright now, Magelet. I won't leave you again as long as you want me around." He knew once the words came out that they were true. He held her there for the longest time, reveling in the joy that was the feel of her in his arms. When she finally stopped crying, he pulled her handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Daine wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She lifted her face to look at his and asked, "Where have you been?"

"At the university. Once the emperor's men arrested my simulacrum, I had to play least-in-sight for a day or two." It was mostly true. The rest of the story could be told some other time.

"But – they knew – Varice and Kaddar were _sure_ it was you."

"It was a very good simulacrum, my dear. I worked on it for weeks in secret and had it shipped to Lindhall from Tyra. I didn't quite trust Ozorne's good intentions, I'm afraid."

Numair knew by her face that this was news. He had failed to tell her. She had grieved for him as he had grieved for her, except it did not have to be that way.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

Numair sighed and smiled at her guiltily, "I have no idea. I think I forgot."

"Oh. "How'd you find out? About – all _this_, then?

"Kaddar made it across the river. We have enjoyed a most informative evening. Are you aware that the entire west wing and Astronomer's Tower are burning?"

She scuffed a foot on the ground and looked sheepish. "I thought they'd killed you. I lost my temper."

He felt himself smile at her. He thought he might never be able to stop smiling. "Magelet, that is the greatest understatement I have heard in my life."

"She had help," said a cracked female voice. "She couldn't have done it without me." The Graveyard Hag had appeared at the back of the immortals' enclosure, cane, eye patch and all. The Badger waddled at her side.

"That's true enough," Daine retorted venomously. "But if you'd done what you're supposed to, none of this would've been necessary."

"And I told _you_, we have rules." The coldfangs seemed to want to taste her as she walked by. They extended their tongues, catching her cape. "Oh, go away, you," the goddess ordered. Silver light gathered around the Coldfangs, and they were gone. "You too," she said, pointing at the spidrens, then the killer centaurs and unicorns. "I'll talk to you when I get back." Silver fire gathered, and they vanished.

Numair could not keep his eyes off the Badger. The last time they had spoken, the Badger had led him to believe that the Graveyard Hag had more or less forced him to help. Now, here he was tagging along like some sort of pet. "Interesting company you keep these days," he said sarcastically. In his arms, Daine stifled a yawn.

--_If I'd had a choice, I would have given up the experience, --_ was the grumbled reply. _–You did very well, kit—_he told Daine. Then his eyes flashed on Numair and he mindspoke _– and so did you, Mage—_Somehow Numair knew that no one but he could hear that last part.

Daine looked at the Badger and smiled. "Thank you, Badger. Coming from you that means a lot." Numair patted her shoulder to indicate he was in agreement.

The Graveyard Hag approached Daine and Numair. To Daine she said, "Well, dearie, it's been fun, but you have something of mine, and I want it back."

Numair put a protective arm around Daine's shoulders. In all the things he had read, Gods gave gifts to mortals of a permanent nature. Having them removed were usually fatal. "She doesn't have anything of yours, Goddess – does she?" If she took her gift back now, would Daine survive it?

"Bringing the dead animals back," Daine said, yawning. "That part's hers. You can have it," she said, extending a hand to the goddess. "It makes me nervous."

Numair's eyes flashed to the Badger. He simply nodded and Numair relaxed a little. The Hag wrapped a gnarled hand around Daine's. White light blazed, and vanished. Suddenly, Daine swayed and nearly fell. Numair caught her. He had half a mind to scream at both the Gods, but Kitten was faster. She leapt from the platform of her former cage with Zek on her back, trotted over, whistling angrily at the goddess while her scales turned pink. Numair again reminded himself to buy her something expensive and very, very intriguing.

"Oh, stop it," chided the Graveyard Hag. "She's just a bit tired. It's only to be expected."

"Goddess – will you listen to me for a moment?" Kaddar asked. They turned to look at him and found him down on one knee. "Please?"

Numair was glad he wasn't in the same position Kaddar was. He personally could not have groveled to the Graveyard Hag any time soon. He wished he could safely give her a piece of his mind.

The Hag was grinning and leaning on her stick, "What have you got for me, handsome?"

"Gracious lady, my uncle's palace is a shambles, its treasure burning or scattered or buried. His chief mage is dead, as are many of those mages who supported him." That was news to Numair who stared at Daine in shock. Then he realized Kaddar was still talking, "..people who feared to cross my uncle while he ruled. I know the gods are angry, but – please, will you stay your hand from more destruction? Intercede for us before Mithros' Court? Give us a chance to prove our worth. I represent a secret fellowship of nobles, academics, and merchants who genuinely wish things to change here. Carthak is not beyond hope."

Lindhall bowed deeply to Kaddar. "Your Imperial Majesty," he said.

It surprised Numair. He hadn't even given it a thought. "So he is," he remarked and bowed as well.

Daine, hesitated for a moment, copied, then yawed wide. When she straightened the hag was staring at her. "What do you recommend? Seems to me since you did the hard work, you ought to have a say." That, too, surprised Numair. He looked to Daine.

"Give him the chance," said Daine through another stifled yawn. "Prince – _Emperor_ Kaddar, I s'pose – he cares about the land and the people. If you gods were only interested in destroying the empire, not saving it, you wouldn't have waited to use me. You'd've gotten on with it."

The Graveyard Hag grinned and looked at the Badger. "You were right about her. Sharp as a Shang blade, she is." She looked upward and said, "Well, my brothers and sisters? What do you think? I say let's give 'em the benefit of a doubt."

For a moment nothing happened. Then a rich wind filled the air. Overhead, thunder boomed again, a long, rolling crash that seemed to peal forever. When it ended, rain poured down in sheets, drenching everyone. Numair squeezed Daine's shoulder and whispered, "I'm proud of you." But he wasn't sure she heard. She was yawning again.

"Very good," the Graveyard Hag said with approval. Gripping her cane, she stumped over to the new emperor. "Get up," she commanded. "Silly for a ruler to kneel in a cloudburst."

Kaddar obeyed, looking dazed and very soggy.

"I hope your memory is better than Ozorne's, sonny," she informed him. "I won't be ignored! Not in my own empire! Now, give me your arm. We need to talk."

The young man swallowed and offered his arm to the goddess with a courteous bow. She took it and cackled.

"_That's_ more like it," she said, leading him toward the gate. "Now, don't worry about the army and the Guard. They were told to stay put or they'd risk the gods' wrath if they came to help your uncle tonight. By dawn they'll be ready to go to work. Oh, wait."

She looked back over her shoulder directly into Numair's eyes. "Arram, or Numair – whatever you call yourself – put that girl to bed. She'll sleep for three days, give or take." She turned her attention back to Kaddar, but whatever she was saying Numair didn't hear.

"Three days?" he asked, worried.

_--It was divine power moving through her, --_ said the badger. Daine sat where she was and smiled up at Numair. It was a look that made his stomach flip. _–Sleep is all she needs.—_

Daine nodded, still smiling. Then she hugged Kitten and a very soaked Zek.

_--Don't worry about the escaped menagerie animals. We animal gods will see to it that they reach their proper homes unhurt. It is the least we can do.—_

Numair realized that Daine was already asleep. He sent some of his gift to create a bubble around them. The rain dripped off of the outside of the bubble musically. Another spell dried Daine's clothes with a soft hiss.

_--Very good. You will take care of my kit then? –_

"You know I will. Thank you for your help."

The Badger nodded. --_I spoke to Gainel. Mortal dreams are usually between the mortals and Gainel or his creatures. The messages I sent you were special circumstances. But he said that no one else asked him for help. I won't ask what the fourth dream was. However, he said dreams are a way mortals work out what they want or need most in their lives. If somehow you got a warning before mine, you must already know that you need to take care of her. –_

It all seemed a bit overly philosophical for the Badger and shook Numair to the core.

_-- I don't know about all of that. I just know if you let her come to harm I'd be grouchy. You probably figured that out on your own.--_

"Yes, Badger, I knew that. However, I have recently discovered that I'm none too friendly when she's in danger. Unfortunately for both of us, she is unlikely to stay out of the thick of a fight she feels she should be in."

--_True.—_There was a blinding flash of light and the Badger was gone.

Numair scooped Daine into his arms, cradling her. He needed to find her somewhere safe and dry to rest, and he needed to call back the peace delegation. He kissed Daine on the forehead tenderly, then whispered, "Don't ever scare me like that again."


	22. Chapter 22 Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce.**

**Chapter 22 – Epilogue**

"Alanna, I have news," Numair said into the speaking spell he was sending. "I would prefer an actual discussion. Can you get to a fire?"

A sparkle at the corner of his eye a moment later told of her return message. "Give me five minutes. It better be worth the trouble."

Smiling to himself, Numair thought that Alanna even sounded seasick. All things considered, he thought that Alanna had come off the worst in the area of travel. They had been at sea two and a half days just to turn around and come back.

When finally he saw Alanna's face in the fire, he knew his smile would give him away. It must have been contagious because her face split into a grin as well. It was just after midnight and Alanna looked like he might have taken her from a deep slumber. She nearly giggled as she said, "Tell me."

"His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Kaddar, has requested the delegation to consider returning to sign a peace treaty."

"Kaddar?" she asked astonished.

"Yes. Kaddar. The former emperor is now a stormwing. When last I saw him he was flying away clumsily. Rikash was in pursuit and referring to him as 'precious'." He couldn't help himself. He burst into laughter. Alanna joined him.

"And Daine?"

"Daine is alive and whole and sleeping at Princess Fazia's beach home. I am just down the beach from there. I have quite a tale to tell you. I'm sure it will be the stuff of fireside stories for years to come. It has gods, weird magic, an execution, wild animals, dinosaurs, and the most endearing heroine you could ever imagine."

"It sounds ent – did you say execution?"

"Yes, I did. I have been executed. I hope it never happens again." Alanna looked very confused. "I will tell you everything when you get here -- which will be a lot faster than you were expecting I might add. Lindhall found this very marvelous book and gave it to me. It has a most unique spell for powering sails. I can even do the incantation by fire."

"Wow. I might be interested in this book."

"Now you're just teasing me." Both of them chuckled mischievously.

"A couple more things you need to know before you arrive. You will need to dig out the rain gear from the back hold if you want to stay dry." Alanna's eyes widened. "Yes, we have quite a down pour, although you cannot see because I shielded myself and the fire."

"And what else."

"Well, you know how you made me promise not to blow up the palace?"

"Numair!"

"_I _kept the promise. But nothing was said about what Daine could and couldn't destroy. It's uhhh – you won't believe it until you see."

"That bad?"

"That bad! Now if you could stand back while I get you all powered up - I'll even be a dear and swing you about. We should see you in about eight hours. Give Duke Gareth my regards."

When Numair awoke in the morning, he first crept into Daine's room to check on her. He knew she would be out for two or three more days, but it was good to see her breathing. Fazia was still in shock about being moved from her palace rooms and wasn't at all sure she wanted Numair in Daine's room. He was forced to sneak in with his new stealth spell.

By day light, the palace destruction was catastrophic. There really wasn't much left. Those parts of the palace which weren't burned had been ripped and torn by powerful jaws and horns.

Just before the ship was due to arrive back in port, Fazia had learned of Daine's role in the destruction and ordered them out. Nothing Kaddar could say to his mother would convince her to change her mind. They moved to guest quarters at the university. Numair had barely gotten Daine settled into her bed there when it was time to go greet his friends.

When the Tortallan delegates stepped off the ferry, it was to much less fanfare than before. Kaddar, a few members of the guard and some of the university members, along with Numair, Lindhall and Bonedancer, stood shoreside to greet them. Duke Gareth, Lord Martin, and Alanna were all staring with wonder at the smoldering ruins of the palace.

"Mithros! There is almost nothing left." Duke Gareth stated after everyone bowed politely to Kaddar.

"Well, Daine said she lost her temper," Numair said flippantly and then laughed. "Remind me never to make her angry."

The moment he was close enough, Numair swept Alanna into a warm hug. "I never said thank you," he whispered. When he let her go he saw there were tears in her eyes.

"If you tell anyone, I'll run you through," she muttered as she wiped her eyes, but she was smiling while she said it.

As they walked back to the University, Kaddar and Numair filled them in on what took place. It seemed that only Lord Martin had failed to see the humor that rest and perspective had brought. Martin seemed even more inclined to dislike Daine, but he was eager to sign the peace accord.

When they arrived inside, Numair noticed Varice standing there, hands wringing together. She did not look like herself at all. Her face was unpainted, her dress was drab. Even her hair was unkempt. He smiled to her apologetically. She strolled forward and slapped him as hard as she could, then ran away sobbing.

"You have a strange influence on women, you know that Numair?" Alanna chided. "Now what exactly caused that?"

So Numair filled them in on the details of his execution and when he explained the stones, and how Ozorne had helped Varice's to hit the target, every man in the group cringed.

"He was a nasty man, wasn't he?" Alanna said when the story finished. "Do you think he's dead now?"

"I can only pray that he is," Numair answered.

It was three more days until Daine awoke and another before she was really up and about. On that day, Numair coaxed her into spending some time in the garden with him in a break between rains. Bonedancer, Zek and Kitten followed and were playing with some pretty colored stones. Numair had intended to talk to Daine about the Badger's role in everything. He felt she ought to know that there were concerns about her tasting human blood. But their discussion was derailed when Alanna brought Kaddar to them.

"May I talk to you briefly?" Kaddar asked Daine. "I won't take much of your time."

"Take all you want, Your Imperiousness," Daine said with a smile, patting the chair next to hers.

"Here, laddybuck," Alanna told Numair. "You come with me."

Numair sighed but didn't argue. He followed Alanna into the guest quarters, glancing regretfully back at the two teenagers as he closed the door. He had not told anyone about finding Daine's handkerchief in Kaddar's belongings.

"Don't slip through the wall to spy now," Alanna said, eyes dancing.

"Is my curiosity that obvious?"

"You are very protective, Numair. Some might say that you are too protective."

He stared at the floor for a long moment. "He's very taken with her."

"Do you find that so hard to understand?"

"No, Alanna. I understand completely." He thought he saw her smile, but she turned her face away. "But I suppose they make a good pair." There was a pain in his chest when he said it.

Alanna turned to look at him. She seemed confused.

"I hope she doesn't stay behind. But if she does – " He wanted to finish it, but he found he couldn't talk.

"I don't think she will." Alanna looked up into his face, searching.

"She deserves to be happy," Numair said. His voice seemed strange to him, almost hollow.

Alanna motioned him over to a sitting area where the two could not see into the garden. "I've been thinking about something George asked me once. He wanted to know how you and I had managed to forge such a friendship when some of your habits so closely resembled things about my relatives that I disliked."

Caught off-guard, Numair said, "Like what?"

"My father – my real father – was very bookish. He was so wrapped up in his books that he barely noticed he had two children."

Numair smirked. "I am bookish. Sorry?"

"My brother Thom, who I loved dearly, put us at great risk through his experimenting."

"I like to think I'm more careful than that, Alanna," he said seriously.

"The point is, you are a brilliant man, Numair, like both of them. But unlike both of them, you have your priorities straight. Someday, you will have those things that you need to complete you. That big heart of yours will find a home."

Numair couldn't respond because of the huge lump in his throat. He just nodded and looked at the floor.

"And Numair, you deserve to be happy too."

At that moment, Daine walked in with Kaddar close behind her. "How long until we leave?" she asked.

Numair and Alanna shared a private smile.

-

-

Finis!


End file.
